Alien Daughter
by Creaturemaster
Summary: What will happen when our Omnitrix wielding hero falls in love with a certain Kraaho girl? Will she feel the same way? And how does an alien daughter fit into this whole mess? Join Ben Tennyson and Ester Kraaho as they go through a series of misadventures throughout the galaxy. (Please don't hate, first fanfic. No BenxRook. Just BenxEster
1. Chapter 1

"Ben look out!" Ester cried.

Ben cried out in surprise and dodged to the right, a giant foot just barely

missing him but a couple of inches.

"Are you okay?" Ester yelled.

Ben picked himself up from the road, his breath shaky and labored

from the sudden surprise. He gave the Kraaho girl a thumbs up.

"Ben!" he heard another voice cry.

"I do not know how much longer I can contain her!"

Rook Blonko soared above the streets of Bellwood, drawing the attention of a giant, mutant

To'kustar away from Ben. The giantess had somehow managed to escape the Null Void she had

been sent to during the Incursean Invasion, and was now destroying the city in an attempt to grab Ben.

"Hurry!" Rook called down to his partner.

Ben gave him another thumbs up and turned his attention to his Omnitrix,

the device that all the ability to restore or destroy life with the flick of a finger.

_Lets see, _Ben thought to himself as he scrolled through the holographic

images of all the aliens that resided within the Omnitrix.

_Crashhopper? Too small. Four Arms? Not strong enough._

_Humungousaur? Not big enough. Here we go!_

Ben tapped his finger on the selected alien and the Omnitrix open up, revealing

the activation button. Ben grinned.

"It's Hero Time!" he yelled, slapping his hand down on the button.

A flash of green light enveloped Ben as the alien DNA coursed through his veins,

changing his appearance and structure. Ester gasped as Ben towered over her and the surrounding

buildings, making them look like oversized doll houses. A large fin emerged from his head

and added to his height. More fins and blades split out from his arms, wrists, and waist.

"This is gonna be a big job!" Ester heard Ben cry.

"A WAY-big job!"

Waybig stepped out from the green light and onto the streets of Bellwood. On lookers gasped

and ran away as fast possible. It was common knowledge that when Ben Tennyson was fighting evil,

things tended to get destroyed. Multiply that but 100, and you knew things weren't going to end well.

The massive To'kustar stomped down Main Street, following it's female counter part.

"Hey, Ugly!" he yelled.

The female To'kustar turned around, growling in anger.

"Lets get this over with! I've got a hankering for chili fries!"

The giantess roared and ran at him, pumping her arms as she ran. She lashed out with a bladed

arm, and Waybig caught it one hand. The colossus struck with the other blade, and Waybig caught that one too.

"Big mistake." Waybig warned, bringing up a giant foot and kicking it into the Waybad's gut,

sending her backwards at least a hundred yards. She crashed into a skyscraper, slightly dazed.

While she was down, Waybig ran down the length of the road before leaping into

the air and curling into a ball. Then he plummeted back to earth and lashed out with another kick,

sending the Waybad's head down into Undertown.

"Is it over?" Rook asked, bringing his Proto-TRUK up to Waybig's head.

CRACK!

The giantess kicked Waybig in the chin, causing him to stumble backward

and to trip on an abandoned bus. The giant fell to the ground.

"What do you think?" Waybig growled as tried to pick himself up, but his movement was restricted

when the Waybad landed on his chest, creating a gigantic crater.

"Ben!" Ester cried as she watched the scene.

Angry, she ran at the mutant To'kustar, yelling in her rage.

The Waybad gave her a curious look, but ignored the small bug that was running at her.

For now, it's attention was on the slightly bigger bug buzzing around her head, Rook's Proto-TRUK.

The giantess swiped at it with a giant hand, missing it the first time and clipping one

of the wings the second, causing the ship to shudder and twirl in mid-flight.

Down below, Ester scrabbled up onto Waybig's chest and hooked her hands around one of the To'kustar's large boots and began to run around the To'kustar's legs, stretching her arms as she did. She ran around the To'kustar three more times

before she was sure her arms were long enough.

"Ester! What are you doing?" Waybig asked, still underneath the To'kustar.

Ester ignored him and pulled her arms as hard as she could. Her arms began to tighten around the To'kustar's legs, binding them together and causing it to lose balance. With a surprised roar,

the mutant fell over, it's arms flailing. One of them hit the Proto-TRUK's wing, causing it to spin wildly

and crash into a building.

Ester was suddenly jerked forward as the giant fell on top of Ben, and was hurled into a nearby

convenience store, shattering the glass in the display window she had come through.

Ester moaned and struggled to her feet, ignoring the cuts she suffered from

the glass shards. She stumbled out of the building and collapsed against a lamp post, trying to stand

on her feet as best as she could. Her arms slowly oozed back to their original lengths.

Her vision was blurred as her head was trying to make sense of everything. A rubbing of her temples

and a shake of her head cleared up most of the haze, with things a little blurry around the edges.

"Ben?" she asked warily.

She looked over to where Waybig and the mutant To'kustar were found something incredibly

awkward and disturbing at the same.

They were _kissing._

The mutant was lying on top of Waybig, it's left hand gripping his shoulder. The giantess

was only a head shorter than Waybig, excluding her horns, but ti was just enough for their lips

to be touching. Waybig was either too shocked and surprised or dazed to do anything, but

Ester felt something.

Something inside her snapped.

Later, Ester would claim that she was just trying to help Ben out,

but even she knew it was a bad lie. What was she feeling right now?

Jealousy? Rage? Anger? Sadness?

Ester didn't know, and at the moment wasn't thinking straight at all. With a yell that was pure

anger and rage, she ran at the giantess a second time and jumped at it's face. It's skin felt leathery and smooth, and she had a hard time getting a good footing but eventually got the hang of it.

She went directly toward the mutant's face, right where the nose might be

and hung on with her legs. Then she stretched her arms and wrapped them around the massive head.

Once they were secured behind the horns, she stretched her legs and hooked them around the blades that rose from the giant shoulders.

Ester gritted her teeth and screamed again before biting down on the skin in front

of her as hard as she could. The reaction was immediate.

She could feel the skin beneath her stretch as the large eyes widened in surprise

and felt a sudden shaking as the giantess roared in pain. The air rushed past her as she was lifted up

through the air. She turned her hand sideways as far as she could while still holding on with her teeth

and saw that the giantess was running around wildly, flailing it's arms as they took out buildings

and power lines with ease. Then the hands came.

They were giant and could have easily picked up a freight train like it was a toy.

They clawed and groped at her, not always managing to touch her, but coming pretty close.

She felt as if she were a mosquito trying to feast on the blood of it's host.

The fact was, that they mostly ended up getting swatted.

The hand finally grabbed her, her body being pulled away from the giantess's face. Her arms

and legs continued to stretch, and her neck grew longer and longer so she remained stuck fast.

The To'kustar pulled harder and harder, and Ester began to feel the strain.

Suddenly her hands slipped!

The To'kustar was now getting the advantage, having been able to pull her hands lose

and was now reaching with it's other hand to pick at her legs. They too came free a few moments later.

Eventually she would lose her grip. And then it would be all over.

The To'kustar would crush her between it's fingers without mercy,

and she would never see the world again.

SNAP!

Her head shot back as her teeth slipped on the To'kustar's skin, jerking her head back at least a dozen feet. She groaned and focused on retracting her neck back to it's original position, but was suddenly aware of the tree-thick fingers closing around her.

Then she began to jostle and be thrown around inside the fist like some sort of dice

and knew what was coming. She closed her eyes, and braced for the worst.

Waybig had watched all of this with a mixture of shock and interest.

He had never seen Ester so mad ever since he met her. Of course, there was that time

when Looma Red Wind stuffed her into a burlap sack with Rook, Julie, and Hervé . . . . .

He watched, stunned, as Ester managed to deal enough to the mutant To'kustar just by biting it on the nose, and watched in horror as she was thrown through the air like a tiny rag doll. He followed her with his head and saw her crash somewhere beyond his line of sight.

What worried him the most was that there was already a very large cloud of smoke

coming from that direction.

"You're going to pay for that." he growled as he got up from the ground and picked

up city bus in his hand. He grunted and swung, using the abandoned bus like a bludgeon.

The bus connected with the mutant's jaw, snapping her head back. Waybig swung three more times

before tossing the damaged bus away, leaving the mutant stunned.

Yelling in anger, Waybig crossed his arms, connecting his wrists together and concentrated until he felt a hot feeling in his hands. A green beam of energy shot out of his wrists and hit the giantess square in the chest, sending it flying backwards into a skyscraper, where it fell into unconsciousness.

Waybig gave a satisfied smile and dusted off his hands before turning around to see

a dented and beat up Proto-TRUK hovering near his head.

"You okay Rook?" Waybig asked.

He heard a struggled grunt.

"I am fine, Ben. Just not feeling very well, as you can imagine."

The giant nodded his head. "Good. For a moment there I-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A loud scream cut through the air, coming somewhere near the ominous black cloud of smoke.

"Oh, no! Ester!" Waybig cried, running toward the sound of her screaming.

"Ben! What about the Way Bad?" Rook shouted after him.

"Call the Plumbers or something! Right now, Ester's in danger!"

Waybig yelled over his shoulder. The giant alien managed to cross the gap between the

battle scene and the smoke cloud in just 8 steps, shattering every window within range while doing so.

"Hang on Ester! I'm coming!" Waybig yelled.

BEEW! BEEW! BEEW! FOOM!

The familiar beeping sounded and in a flash of green light, the 100 ft tall alien disappeared

to be replaced with 16 year old Ben Tennyson.

"Great." he muttered, and he began running toward the smoke cloud. As he got closer,

it became harder to breath as the smoke filled his lungs. It stun his eyes and burned his throat,

and Ben was forced to pull his shirt up over his mouth and nose in an attempt to breath.

He finally made it up to one of seven other fire trucks surrounding the burning building, which looked

like it was a large apartment or something. It was hard to tell with the massive waves of fire eating

away at it like a hungry herd of Pyroxivores.

"C'mon Omnitrix! Give me Heatblast or XLR8!" he yelled, hoping the device

would listen to him for once in his life. And then he slammed down on the Omnitrix.

FOOM!

"What the- LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN' STUPID OMNITRIX THAT KEEPS  
ON IGNORE MY REQUESTED ALIENS! LISTEN TO RATH FOR ONCE!" the Appoplexian roared.

Rath sighed and ignored the odd stares the surrounding firefighters were giving him

and ran head on into the burning building, ignoring the smoke that stung his nose and eyes.

This reminded him of the time he had saved a little girl from a burning building

and had a reunion with Gwen and Kevin. That is, until Princess Looma came along proclaiming

that she was Kevin's fiance. And there was the whole 'Looma vs. Ben' thing.

Ben was sure that Looma still had a crush on him, no matter how much she didn't want

him as a husband anymore. Thank you Rook.

"Hello! Ester!" Rath called out. "Can you hear me!"

He put a hand to his ear and heard a faint screaming over the sound of the crackling fire,

crashing beams, and dramatic music that seemed to appear whenever something dangerous and cool

was happening. Like now.

With a grunt, Rath leaped up a flight of stairs that had been burned away and ducked under

a sagging ceiling that even he was sure was not going to be there if he returned.

"Ester! Keep yelling!" he roared, hoping she had heard him above the racket.

"Ben?" he heard what seemed to be a couple apartments down.

"I'm coming Ester!"

Rath ran down the burning hallway, ignoring the embers and ashes that fell

on him and ignited bits of his fur. He could hardly see anything through the haze,

and had to rely on his sense of hearing. Had it been on his brain power, Ester would have been toast.

Literally.

"Ben!"

Rath turned down another hallway, following Ester's cries. He was huffing and breathing hard

as he ran, barely able to breath with all the smoke and fire around him. He leaped over a fallen beam

and pushed aside a crumbling wall and was about to continue charging through the inferno

when he nearly fell into a large hole that appeared in the floor, going straight down into a pit of flames.

"Ester! Where are you?" Rath called out again.

"In here!" he heard from what seemed so close and yet so far.

"Where?"

"Here!" Ester yelled, followed by a faint knocking on a wall.

The wall right next to him.

"Hang on! I'm comin' in through the wall!" Rath yelled as he backed up.

He waited a few seconds to make sure Ester was ready and surged forward, crossing his arms

in front of his face for protection. He smashed through the wall with ease, sending burnt plaster

and wood everywhere.

"Ben!"

Rath followed the voice to see Ester lying on the floor, trapped under a pile of ceiling and ash.

"Are you okay!?" Ben yelled.

"I think so," Ester said. "Can't feel my legs though."

Rath growled and grabbed a piece of ceiling and heaved it off of Ester, sending it into

the far wall where it smashed into pieces. Rath grabbed another piece, just as beam came

down and smacked him in the face, dazing him slightly.

"LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN' BURNING BUILIDNG THAT SURROUNDS ME  
AND MY GOOD FRIEND ESTER, LEADER OF THE KRAAHO! RATH HAS HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!" Rath roared, and he began punching the wall behind him with all his might.

"Ben?"

"WHAT!?"

"Still trapped here!" Ester yelled.

"Sorry." Rath apologized and he set to work removing the rest of the rubble from around

Ester. Ester winced as he grabbed the wooden beam that pinned her legs to the floor

and tried not to cry out when the throbbing sensation returned.

"Can you walk?" Rath asked, throwing the beam away like a toothpick.

Ester shook her head and reached out with her arms. Rath sighed and picked her up

as gently as he could, putting his meaty paw under her neck and thighs, being careful so as

not to cause too much pain.

"Lets go!" Rath yelled and he charged back out the hole had made.

They retraced Rath's path, taking a different route when they saw the sagged ceiling had

indeed collapsed when they had last seen it.

Ester would point out other exit routes and escapes but every time they headed

toward one, it would be blocked off by a falling beam, collapsed ceiling or floor. By the time

they made it to a small lobby near a melting elevator, Rath was irritated beyond belief.

"WHERE IS THE STINKIN' EXIT IN THIS JOINT!?" he yelled, and immediately wished

he hadn't when a small cloud of embers landed on his tongue. The alien's eyes widened

and tears formed in his eyes as he dropped Ester to the ground and began to dance around, waving his hands over his burning tongue.

"HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT!" he cried.

"Ben! Escape first, dance later!" Ester called from the floor.

"LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN' ESTER, LEADER OF THE KRAAHO A-"

"Save it for later Ben!" Ester pleaded, as a piece of falling ceiling landed a couple

of inches from her head, causing her to jump a little.

"FINE! But not because you told me to!" Rath insisted as he picked Ester up again

and began the mad escape search all over again.

"Why doesn't this place have a clearly marked exit or somethin'!?" Rath roared

angrily as they continued to run around in the burning building.

"Ben! Concentrate! This building's not gonna last much longer!" Ester warned

as the floor beneath began to crumble.

BEEW! BEEW! BEEW!

"Oh, for the love of-really Omnitrix!? Of all the times!"

Ben complained, yelling at the device as if it had a mind of his own. Of which case, it

actually seemed to have.

"Ben! Change or something!" Ester cried, looping her arms around Ben's neck as floor beneath

his feet began to give way.

"You're gonna have to activate it for me!' Ben yelled.

"Um, alright!" Ester yelled as she tapped the Omnitrix to see the green hologram appear.

"Which one?"

"Any!" Ben yelled as he stumbled.

"The one that looks like a golem?" Ester asked, dialing on Clockwork.

"No!"

"Fat guy wearing underpants?"  
"No!"  
"What about the one that looks like an two legged angler fish?"

"I don't know, just select someone and hit it all ready!" Ben roared, irritated that

the Omnitrix wasn't being helpful in the slightest.

"If you say so!" Ester yelled, hitting the Omnitrix.

FOOM!

Ester shielded her eyes as Ben was engulfed in a bright green flash.

"Four Arms? This could work." the alien said as he looked himself over.

Ester cracked open her eyes to look at a 12 ft tall alien with two pairs of green eyes

and two pairs of muscled, red arms. He certainly looked capable of helping out here.

"I gotta _hand _it to ya, Ester." Four Arms joked, only to be met with an anger glare.

"Right. Rescue now, jokes later." he muttered under his breath.

With a heave he lowered Ester into his second pair of arms and ran up a flight of stairs

that hadn't been burned away yet. As he ran up them, they began to crumble away behind them,

something that usually happened in an Indiana Jones movie, or something.

"Hold on!" the Tetramand yelled as the stairs suddenly gave way underneath his feet

just as they reached the top.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ester screamed, holding onto Four Arms as

tightly as she could. She thought they were falling to their dooms, into a sea of flames that would

consume them within seconds. Even if she was a Kraaho and could withstand extreme heat,

fire was one thing she didn't want to mess around with.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she continued to scream,

waiting for death to take her in it's hot grip.

"Uh, Ester? We aren't falling." she heard a deep voice say.

Ester cracked open an eye to see that Four Arms had managed to hook his upper set of

arms on the lip of the next floor, hanging on with what seemed to be little effort.

Ester sighed in relief. She wasn't dying today.

CRACK!

Scratch that.

"Why can't I get a break?" Four Arms whined as the piece of floor he was hanging onto

started to give away until it finally broke off. They hung there together, Four Arms, Ester, and the

piece of flooring, in space for a few seconds before suddenly plummeting down

into the inferno, the fire roaring over the screams.

CRASH! BOOM!

Something massive crashed down through the ceiling above and rushed down toward them.

Ester assumed it was a part of the roof that had collapsed until she saw the familiar smooth,

leathery skin. A giant hand wrapped it's fingers around them, holding them firmly, but gently so that they wouldn't be crushed. The hand paused for a moment before slowly rising up out of the inferno

and into the cool, smoke stained air. Ester crawled off of Four Arms to a crack in

the fingers to see the apartment building suddenly fall in on itself, just moments after they

had been rescued by the giant hand.

"Well, that was lucky." she heard Four Arms grumble.

"Yeah. Really lucky." Ester managed to say before the world began to look fuzzy again.

"You okay?" Four Arms asked her.

"Yeah. I'm-I'm fine." she coughed before blacking out.

The Tetramand caught her as she fell backwards, cradling her in his

muscular arms as they continued to rise. Soon their ride came to a stop, and the massive

hand slowly opened up, exposing them to the world outside once more.

Four Arms glanced up to stare at the giant, yet friendly face of the mutant To'kustar

he had been fighting earlier. The giant smiled.

"Uh, thanks?" Four Arms said, confused.

"You are most welcome, Ben Tennyson." a loud, booming voice with a Japanese accent

said. "Where shall I out you and your Kraaho friend down?"

Four Arms jumped in surprise and whirled around. "Who said that!?"

he demanded. "I've got an Omnitrix, and I'm not afraid to use it."

The Tetramand then heard a sigh. "Are you really that dim, Ben Tennyson?" the voice asked again.

"It is me, your savior."

Four Arms turned around on the giantess's hand to look at the mutant To'kustar. It smiled

at him again and waved. Four Arms waved two arms back without even thinking and then passed out

from shock and smoke inhalation.

"Just wait till he wakes up." the To'kustar giggled to herself as she turned around and left

the crumbling apartment behind.


	2. Chapter 2

The first Ester noticed when she woke up was how much hotter it was.

It was much, much hotter than from when she last remembered. It had seemed to be nearly

100 degrees when Ben had rescued her from that fire.

_Shit! What happened to Ben!?_ Ester thought.

She cracked open her eyes and carefully looked at her surroundings, ignoring

the fuzziness around the edges of things. From what her eyes could tell her, she was back

in her home in the Kraaho village in the Hot Spot. She recognized the white washed walls

of her home and the pictures that hung from the walls.

There was one of herself and her Kinceleran friends playing street hockey out

in the 100+ degree weather. Behind all of them stood a Orishan, an alien that wore a sort of red colored

diving suit that resembled a crab's armor. Barnacles seemed to pop out of random places on it's

shoulders and legs, and he seemed to have three sets of spiked legs curled up at his chest.

Positioned directly in the middle of it's chest was the unmistakeable Omnitrix symbol.

There was another photo of herself sifting through the rubble of the Kraaho village after Looma's 'visit'.

Behind her was a very large Vaxasaurian propping up a large piece of rubble directly over her head.

The brown plated, dinosaur-like alien didn't seem to mind hold up heavy piece of rock

as Ester searched through the rubble that had once been a house. On a green sash that went across

his large, muscled chest was the Omnitrix symbol again.

In the final picture stood Ester once more, this time sitting on the shoulders of a grinning Tetramand.

The four armed alien had hooked his upper right arm around Ester, who was laughing.

The bottom two were hooked around Rook and Shar's shoulders in a friendly fashion as they stood

protectively over a very miffed and handcuffed Nyancy Chan. Once again, the Omnitrix symbol was on the large alien's chest. That was the most recent picture hanging on her wall.

She struggled to get up from her bed, but was held down by a strong, gentle push before she could even

get halfway there. The hand pushed her back down until she was lying flat on her back.

All she could do was move her eyeballs. She looked to her right to see Ben sitting in a chair next

to her bed.

"Whew!" he exclaimed. "I thought you weren't gonna wake up at all!"

Ester raised in eyebrow in question.

"How long was I out?" she asked in a parched voice.

"About ten hours," Ben said as he reached for a glass of water for her.

He returned with it in hand and held it up to her face. She sipped down the liquid

slowly, savoring the cool drink.

"About half of that was from anesthetics they used on you."

"Why'd they use anesthetics?" Ester asked, pushing the glass away.

Ben pointed down toward the other end of the bed. Ester looked as best as she

could and saw both of her legs wrapped up in a layer of bandages. Ester paled slightly

and set her head back down.

"How'd I get here?" she asked.

"Well, after you passed out from exhaustion, shock, and smoke inhalation,

we got rescued by a friend of ours." Ben said with a grin on his face.

"Who?"

"Well, you're going to have to come topside to meet her." Ben said.

"Then take me." Ester insisted.

"You sure?"

Ester glared at him and Ben put his hands up in mock surrender.

Getting up from his chair, he tapped on the Omnitrix, scrolling through the aliens

he had unlocked.

"Alright Omnitrix, any old brute will do. Just no Rath or Way Big, ok?" he said,

as if the Omnitrix was listening to him. Ester rolled her eyes and folded her arms, impatient.

FOOM!

A green flash filled the room, and a second later, a Geochelone Aerio replaced Ben's form.

"Terraspin?" the turtle like creature asked as he glanced at himself.

"Great. On the bright side, I haven't flown in a while."

Ester stifled a giggle as Ben's slight displeasure at the Omnitrix ignoring his request once again.

That was the thing she liked about him; no matter what was happening, Ben always found one

way or another to keep spirits high, even when he wasn't trying. And as great of a hero he was, he

was pretty much born to be humiliated at some point or another.

"Ben, stop looking at yourself and help me up." Ester said with mock impatience.

"Okay, okay. Give a sec." Terraspin said as he waddled over and promptly fell forward.

"Oof! I meant to do that!" Terraspin said from the floor. Ester giggled and reached out with a hand to help him up. The alien took and heaved himself back up to his full height before reaching down with a flipper and scooping Ester up. He then gently set her on his shell and waited patiently as she readjusted herself to make sure she stayed on. Then Terraspin shuffled his way out of the bedroom and

into the small living room and kitchenette, trying desperately to not knock anything over.

The last time anything like that had happened, he had destroyed nearly half of his own living room

and accidentally tore the front door off of it's hinges. His mother hadn't been too happy about that,

since she had forbidden any transformations in the household ever since what Ben and Kevin

called "The Jury Rigg Incident". The only exception was if anyone broke into the house

or was trying to Ben and anyone close to him.

"Ready?" Terraspin asked once they had managed to leave Ester's house without to much collateral damage. Ester nodded and hung on tight as Terraspin raised his flippers and moved his legs together to form a third. Then he began to spin them slowly and the six holes in his chest opened a little wider.

Ester gasped at this as she had never seen Terraspin up close. The holes were big enough for

her entire head to fit through and still have room. Terrapin's flippers began to pick up speed,

and before long they were airborne, hovering just 6 ft about the ground.

"Hang on!" Geochelone Aerio cried, and he quickly took off, Ester joyfully screaming all the way

as they flew at a high speed over the Kraaho village. Down below, several Kraaho stopped what they were doing to glance up at Terraspin and Ester. Some of them pointed and gawked, and a few of the

littler Kraaho kids laughed and ran after them, trying to catch Terraspin's shadow as they flew on

over the lava lake studded cavern. Ester sighed. It was quite beautiful, with the glow of the lava

making everything seem a little softer.

"Enjoying the ride back there?" Terraspin called back over the heavily flapping of his flippers.

Ester jerked her head slightly, caught off guard, and shouted a yes. They soon found the exit tunnel that led out to the main part of Undertown, and Ester gasped as she now realized how high they were.

She clung to the shell a little tighter, slightly scared she would fall off.

"Relax. We're almost there." Terraspin reassured her when he felt her grip tighten. Terraspin smiled

to himself. Ester was one of the bravest girl's he knew, maybe even a little braver than Gwen, Attea,

and even Looma. Of course, Attea wasn't exactly right in the head by human standards,

and Looma was just temperamental.

They quickly flew over the market place of Undertown and ignored the few shouts

and yells they heard below. Ester glanced down and saw her Kinceleran friends waving and shouting up at her, waving their hands like crazy in hopes that she would see them. She cast a short wave

before Terraspin zoomed forward, toward one of the many exit tunnels to Bellwood.

They traveled on in near total darkness for what seemed forever, with the little speck of light of

Undertown behind them, and the slightly bigger speck of light from the sun above.

And then they were there.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Terraspin cried out as the sudden brightness of sunlight flooded his eyes.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Ester cried, suffering the same consequence. They were soon quickly spinning out

of control and heading toward some very hard ground when a large hand swooped up underneath them

and caught them about half a hundred feet above the ground.

"How many times must I save you yet, Ben Tennyson?" a loud, feminine voice asked.

"Sorry about that Trixie." Terraspin apologized as he slowly got up from falling down.

"Sunlight blinded me."

"And me." Ester added, holding her aching head.

BWEE! BWEE! BWEE! BWEE! FOOM!

"Ester as much as I like you, I don't think I'm ready to give you a piggyback ride, okay?"

Ben grunted from underneath her. Ester blushed slightly.

"Ben, I can't-"

"Hang on Ester, give me a sec." Ben said as he scrolled through the Omnitrix again.

He soon found a suitable transformation and hit the activation button. Ben vanished in the familiar

bright green light and was replaced by an alien that looked as if it were made out of LEGO bricks.

"Aw, yeah! Bloxx!" the alien cheered.

Ester grinned, but her face fell slightly. She preferred Ben in his original form.

While his transformations were fun and cool, she just couldn't get the same satisfaction

of having fun with the real Ben. While Looma and Attea only fell in love with Ben's forms,

she liked the old Ben better.

"Ester? Ester!" a faint voice called her name.

"Huh!?" she cried, startled as she was jarred from her thoughts.

"I want you to meet a friend of mine." Bloxx said, gesturing with a hand toward

a giant, mutant, and overall scary looking giantess.

"Ester, meet Trixie To'kustar." Bloxx said.

Trixie waved at Ester and smiled. All Ester could do was stare, open mouthed at the giant

they were now resting on.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Ester screamed. Barely even thinking she grabbed hold of Bloxx's back and began ripping

pieces of it away before hurling them at the To'kustar's face.

"Owowowowowowowowowowowow!" Bloxx yelped as parts of him were ripped away.

They quickly grew back, and were soon ripped away. While he could probably do this all day,

it didn't make it any less painful.

"Ester!" Bloxx yelled, trying to get the Kraaho girl's attention.

Nothing happened as more pieces of Bloxx were still flying through the air

at Trixie's face. The mutant To'kustar didn't seemed to be bother much by the attack.

"ESTER!" Bloxx yelled again, more loudly than before.

"What?" Ester asked as she hyperventilated. She was still clutching two pieces

of Bloxx in both of her hands, ready to throw them.

"Don't worry. She's a friend." Bloxx reassured her.

"Friend!? In case you forgot Ben, that monster hurled me to my death in the form

of a giant barbecue!" Ester argued.

"And she _kissed you_!"

"Why does that bother you? It was a complete accident."

Bloxx asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ester paused. Why did that bother her? Why did Trixie kissing Ben bother her

so much? Sure Ben was nice guy and all, but she serious didn't feel that way about him.

Did she?

"Uh, well I just . . . . thought you wouldn't like it, okay?" she stuttered, trying to sound firm.

"And I'm still not forgiving her for grilling me alive!"

"Ahem."

Ester glanced up at Trixie with murder in her eyes, but decided she might

as well listen to what the To'kustar had to say.

"Most apologies, dear Ester." Trixie said calmly.

"At the time I was not in control of my actions. As previously stated by the egomaniac that is

Dr. Psychobos, I was in feral mode at the time. No control or thought over my actions."

"So, why exactly are you not all crazy anymore? And talking!" Ben added as he realized

that the rest of the mutant To'kustars couldn't talk and were more likely to growl and roar

rather than talk.

"I believe it has something to do with our previous battle, dear Benjamin."

Trixie said, resting her head on her other chin and resembling a giant statue of "The Thinker".

"Sorry about that by the way." Bloxx said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Ester rolled her eyes.

"No need for apologies. It was entirely my fault." Trixie said. "You were just doing your job

and trying to protect the city."

"Anyway . . . ." Ester said impatiently.

"Right, right. Anyway, I believe when you last hit me, it somehow fixed a blockage in my

Broca's area, as well as the parietal lobes."

"Say what know?" Bloxx asked, more confused than he had been before.

"You fixed her brain Ben." Ester said simply, resisting the urge to make fun of himm.

"To put it simply." Trixie stated.

"Ohhhhhhhhh." Bloxx said, now getting the idea.

Ester smiled slightly. Ben always knew how to make her smile, even if he had no idea

he was doing it.

"So how did I end up back in my house anyway?" Ester asked, trying to steer the conversation

back to what they had originally come for.

"Oh, yeah! Trixie caught us before we fried and carried us to the nearest hospital, which was consequently only a couple of steps away. After the doctors bandaged you up, Jetray carried you home." Bloxx explained.

"I swear, the doctors scared themselves pee-less when they saw Trixie."

Ester smiled at the thought. It would entertain her for a couple of weeks at least,

now that she was literally incapable of moving without help.

"Well, it was nice meeting you Trixie." Ester said.

"But I really must be getting back to the Hot Spot. My people will

be worried if I stay out for too long, especially in my condition."

Trixie nodded her large head and gently set them back down on the ground in front

of the entrance to Undertown.

"So, where do you go from here?" Bloxx shouted, trying his hardest to make sure he was being

heard. They weren't sitting her hand near her head anymore.

"The Plumbers have been kind enough to give me a home on this world," Trixie said.

"I have grown fond of it, despite what I have been forced to do. I hope to repent for all that

I have done by helping others."

Bloxx smiled his semi cocky grin. "You should try talking to Blukic and Driba. I'm sure

they'd like to talk to you about Quantum physics or something." he yelled.

"I should warn you though, they aren't exactly the brightest of the Galvan, and are prone

to start arguing over the strangest things."

"I will keep that in mind, Benjamin. I must be off now." Trixie said, rising to her full height of a hundred feet. "I hope we will meet again."

And with that, she turned around and stomped off toward the wilderness, where an entrance

big enough for her to enter waited. The duo watched her massive form slowly disappear into

the distance.

"Do you mind Ben?" Ester asked, pointing toward the entrance.

Bloxx nodded his head and knuckle walked down the dark hole back toward Undertown.

They made good time coming down from the tunnel, leaping from rooftop to rooftop until they

reached ground level. At least, ground level for Undertown.

None of the passerby gave them a second glance as they walked through the crowded streets.

Apparently an injured Kraaho riding a Segmentasapien wasn't the strangest thing seen down here.

"Which way?" Bloxx asked when they came to an intersection of sorts. A sign post with arrow signs

pointing in different directions stood staked in the middle, written in several languages that Ben couldn't quite understand. He understood a few, but nothing that would give up a hint as to where they lead or went.

Ester looked around, lightly chewing on fingernail as she tried to remember the way back to

the Hot Spot was. She was used to traveling in Undertown either on the buses or on the labyrinth of pipes and support beams that ran overhead at least a hundred feet up. Her fear of heights was almost nonexistent.

"That way." she said, trying to sound confident. In truth, she really had no idea where

they were heading, and she had just picked the most likely path. Ben didn't argue with her decision though, and walked down the road she had pointed out.

"Are we lost?" Bloxx asked.

"No. I know exactly where we are." Ester reassured him.

"You're sure?"

"Mmm-hm."

"Then why, pray tell, are we in a virtual ghost town?"

Ester looked at their surroundings. It was indeed eerily quiet. Too quiet. It wasn't like Undertown, with it's bustling market places and streets always full of beings from every corner of the galaxy. Even at night the city was relatively loud, with the low humming of machinery, the grunts and squeals of stray creatures in the alleys, and sometimes the dulling thud of loud music from some obnoxious neighbor's

party that went long into the night. In fact, it wasn't really that different from the above world.

But this place. Thus place was quiet. Dead silent.

It was as if an invisible signal had gone out to everyone telling them to stay away from the place.

It didn't look that different from the rest of Undertown. Just neglected for a long time.

Paint was coming off in large waves of peeling from the buildings that weren't already crumbling and rotting where they stood, taking out more the surrounding area. The road and sidewalks were overgrown with weeds and plants that seemed to have taken over what hadn't fallen yet. Vines draped over the ruins, and every now and then, a pair of cold red eyes would peak out at them, as if deciding if they were prey or competition.

"We're lost aren't we?" Bloxx asked, coming to a stop at an aged fountain. The fountain had well been drained long ago and now stood empty and crumbling. The figure perched the pedestal was too covered in mold and plants as well as in pieces to even guess at who it had been. Bloxx reached up and over his back before hooking his arms around and Ester and lifting her up. He gently set her down on the lip

of the fountain and sat down on the road, resting his small legs.

"I'm sorry, Ben. I'm just so used to seeing Undertown from above, not from below. The closest I've ever gotten to there was on a crowded bus, and even then I could only see glimpses of the outside."

Ester apologized.

"So we're lost in an abandoned part of the city with no idea on how to get back to civilization."

Bloxx said grumpily, summing up the situation.

"Well, when you say it like that, it sounds a whole lot worse." Ester lamented.

BWEE! BWEE! BWEE! BWEE! FOOM!

"And I'm timed out." Ben muttered, picking himself up from the road and sitting down

next to Ester on the fountain. "Great."

Ester smiled slightly and hooked an arm around Ben.

"Don't feel bad, Ben. I like this version of you better than the other ones." she said.

Ben tried to look upset, frowning as he tried, but his eyes gave away his slight amusement.

Ester laughed and ruffled Ben's hair before turning away.

"I know! I'll just call Rook and have him pick us up!" Ben exclaimed, his voice echoing through

the empty neighborhood. Loud scuffling sounds soon followed.

"Maybe you shouldn't have said that so loud." Ester said worried.

Ben's face quickly matched her own when three alien thugs stepped out of the shadows

of the nearest building, not looking at all friendly in the slightest. The first looked familiar, and Ben

quickly realized that it was Thunder Pig, the alien that had destroyed Mr. Baumen's car.

Of course, Mr. Baumen blamed Ben for it.

The second thug was none other than Fistrick, looking more pissed off than Ben had ever seen him.

The second his eyes laid on him, Fistrick's face split into a wicked smile, cracking his knuckles while he did so.

The last alien was so bizarre, Ben had trouble believing it was real. It was green, and moved forward on a slimy belly like a slug. It had two tentacles with three fingers of varying lengths at the end. It had one eye in the center of it's head, with another off to one side. A third rested on one of the fingers on the left tentacle. The most surprising characteristic however, was the fact that it was wearing a pair of regular human glasses, meant for two eyes instead of one.

Despite this, the alien still wore them as it oozed forward.

"Who are you?" Ben addressed the alien, stepping back as he did.

"What, the menace that threatens the world doesn't recognize me?" the alien said in a surprisingly

human voice. "After all, _you _were the one that made me this way when I tried to do the world a service by turning all of you alien freaks into humans. Now look at me!" the alien growled.

Ben could not have been more confused. He ran through his mental list of villains and not one matched

the guy in front of him. Then a look of realization struck his face.

"Will Harangue?" he asked skeptically, totally unsure whether he was being tricked or not.

"Finally. It's nice to finally be recognized as someone other than 'freak', even if it is coming from you, Tennyson. Even the aliens in this city think I'm a freak." Will grumbled.

"Well, you aren't exactly-

Harangue cast a tentacle at Ben, much like a pointed finger.

"It's because of you that I'm like this! I try to help this miserable planet by getting rid of the alien menace, and this is how I'm thanked?" Will yelled.

Ester shifted uncomfortably on the fountain ledge.

"Um, Ben? Maybe we should leave?" she asked timidly, completely out of character for her loud and outgoing life style. She knew it was stupid, but there was something about these guys, especially that Will Harangue guy that made her uneasy.

Just then, Will looked over Ben's shoulder to look at Ester, and his anger deepened.

"So. This is it." he said in a cold voice.

"You've finally crossed the line."

"What line?" Ben asked, completely confused.

"It was bad enough when you used that stupid watch of yours to turn into alien scum and pretend to be a hero. But now, you're dating an alien freak." Will said, every word dripping with hatred.

"It's time for this to end. I'm getting rid of you, once and for all."

Ben paled slightly as the trio edged closer, hatred in their eyes.

"C'mon Omnitrix, give me something good." Ben pleaded as he slapped the device, hoping it would listen to him for once. He quickly disappeared in a flash of light and was replaced with a large, 12 ft tall alien resembling a dinosaur.

"Humungousaur!" he cried, clearly psyched out. "Finally!"

"Presto-chango all you want, Tennyson!" Fistrick yelled, pulling out an alien weapon from behind his back. He cocked it and aimed it at Ben.

"Either way, this is where you fall."

Humungousaur cocked and eyebrow. "Yeah, I don't see it that way."

Without another word, Humungousaur ripped out a street sign written in an alien language and swung it like a baseball. Both Harangue and Fistrick managed to leap over the attack, while Thunder Pig was hit and thrown back into a crumbling building, bringing it to the ground.

Humungousaur swung again and again, trying to swat at the little beings that annoyed him like flies.

Each time, they somehow managed to escape his wrath, always just staying out of reach.

Ester watched in both fear and excitement. She should have been by Ben's side out, covering

his blind sides and protecting him from what he couldn't react to fast enough. Instead, he was risking his neck against two extremely dangerous looking villains and one angry alien to protect her from harm.

"Hold still so I can blast ya!" Fistrick, trying to get a lock on the huge beast. It proved difficult as the Vaxasaurian was more agile than previously thought.

"Why would I? You're just gonna shoot me!" Humungousaur teased, a cocky grin spreading across his face. Without too much trouble, he picked up an aged motorbike and hurled it at Fistrick, nailing him in the chest and sending him out of the fight.

"Just you and me now, Will." Humungosaur grunted, cracking his large knuckles.

"So what's it gonna be? You gonna come quietly, or is this gonna get loud?"

Ester rolled her eyes. Of all the 'super hero' catchphrases, it was among the oldest. She was pretty sure she had heard it from someone else, possibly someone covered in metal parts and bolts.

Harangue slowly oozed backwards, slightly scared of the hulking creature before him. His fear was soon replaced with a look of realization, and then a look of sick, twisted amusment.

"You think you beat me just because you're 12 ft tall and can pick up a truck?" Will taunted.

"Uh, yeah?" Humungousaur asked.

"It's kind of obvious, dude. I mean, seriously. You pick up a truck? That'll be the day."

Will slyly and coolly reached behind his back to the small pouch he had been carrying and dug his tentacle inside, groping for something. He soon found it, and hooked a tentacles around the smooth, metal surface.

"Well then. Let's mark the special occasion." he said. With a speed that would have surprised anyone, even Khyber the Huntsman, he whipped out a small pistol, fully loaded, and aimed it at Ben's head.

Harangue had been studying Ben for several months, ever since his transformation had happened.

He knew it was futile to try and shoot the Vaxasaurian in the chest; the alien could survive a laser at point blank range and the airless vacuum of space. But his head, while thick, was vulnerable.

"Lets celebrate." Harangue hissed as he pulled the trigger.

Ester's eyes widened. The world suddenly seemed to play in slow motion in front on her as the bullet rocketed forth from the weapon, aimed straight for Ben's head. She could see the puff of smoke and the slight widening of Ben's eyes. The bullet zoomed straight toward Ben's head before it sank into the flesh of the right side of his face. Blood shot forth from the wound and began to trickle down Ben's lip. The giant slowly fell, crashing down like a giant tree who's trunk had been cut.

Ester could see the sick satisfaction in Harangue's face as he watched the whole scene.

Then the world sped up.

Ester was screaming Ben's name, falling off the fountain and dragging herself over to his still form. Her throat felt dry, and tears flowed freely as she lay her head down on his chest. She never heard Harangue leave, only the clattering of his weapon as he tossed it aside and left, as if nothing had happened.

"C'mon Ben!" she cried. "Please, wake up!"

A sudden heave of his chest signaled that he was still amongst the living, but a bullet to the head could that in a heartbeat. And Ben was running out of those as well. She quickly dug around in her coat pocket and pulled out a Plumbers Badge, something Ben had given to her in case of emergencies, case in point when Looma returned. Now that Ester thought about, they bonded a lot more than usual when Looma was around trying to claim Ben for her own. Ester mentally sighed, and wished that she could just talk to Ben was Looma wasn't trying to marry him, or someone else was trying to kill them both.

Her thoughts still in chaos, she quickly ran through the list of contacts and taped her finger on Rook's name. She clutched it to her ear, silently chanting that Rook would pick up, but she knew he would. Rook never went anywhere without his badge or Proto-tool.

"Hello?"

"Rook!"

"Ester? Is that you? What has happened?"

"Ben's been shot, Rook! He's down on the ground, and he's barely breathing!"

"Whom has he been shot by?"

"Some crazy alien named Will with a pistol!"

Silence. "Rook?"

"My apologies, Ester. I was just looking up whom you described and pulled out a file of a Mr. Will Harangue as a result. I was always wondering when he would 'break'."

"You mean 'snap'? Well, he finally did, and he's going to succeed if Ben doesn't get help right now!"

Ester practically yelled into the badge.

"Where are you?"

"Some abandoned part of Undertown. We took a wrong turn when we were heading back to the Kraaho village. Okay, I got us lost, but the point is that Ben's been attacked, okay?"

"Help is on the way Ester. By any chance, is Ben in a different form?"

"Um, yeah? Something he called 'Humungousaur'. Why?"

"It looks as if we are going to need the forklift . . . ." she heard mutter before he signed off, promising to be there as soon as possible. Ester slipped the badge back into her pocket and removed her heavy fur coat, revealing a uni-tard slightly similar to what the rest of the Kraaho wore. She quickly began to try sopping up the blood that was pouring forth from Ben's wound, trying hard not to let her tears fall into it. It was a mere 10 minutes before Rook's Proto-TRUK and a large Ambulance Ship pulled up next to them. The doors to the Ambulance popped open once it had touched ground, and a group of both alien and human Plumbers jumped out with a large stretcher of steel fibers woven together, and a pile of ropes and bungee cords to move Ben's massive bulk. Out of the Proto-TRUK came Rook, Grandpa Max, and Blukic and Driba. The two Galvans rushed over to Humungousaur's still frame and jumped up onto his chest, Driba holding a small stethoscope.

"I definitely hear a heartbeat, but it seems to be slowing down." Driba stated when he placed the stethoscope to Humungousaur's chest.

"It looks like the bullet wound took out his eye, too." Blukic said as he examined the Vaxasaurin's head with a magnifying glass.

"No it didn't!" Driba argued as he looked at the hole.

"Yes it did!"

No, it didn't!"

"Yes it did!"

"No it didn't!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"QUIET!" Ester yelled. The two Galvans turned to her, looking slightly ticked off at having to stop their argument over whether Ben's eye was still good or not.

"Can you please just stop arguing for one second, and agree to at least hold off the arguing until Ben's okay? Please!" Ester pleaded, tears streaming down her face.

The two Galvan's looked at each other and nodded their heads before going back to work, keeping their arguing to a minimum. Only a small 'yes or no' squabble came out about whether they should get Ben out of Humungousaur's body, or keep it there. They finally agreed to leave Ben where he was, just in case the wound was fatal enough to kill Ben as a human.

Without a word, Ben's body was moved onto the stretcher and half dragged, half lifted to the Ambulance Ship. The doors popped shut and the ship lifted off before zooming back to Plumber HQ.

Ester stayed on the ground, unable to get herself up without assistance. She just couldn't believe someone had shot Ben like that. And out of cold blood. What did that horrid man have against Ben?

"Would you like me to drive you home, Ester?" Rook offered.

Ester nodded her head, too shocked and disturbed to say anything.

With a comforting sigh, Rook lifted Ester up without too much trouble and carried her over to the Proto-TRUK, where he set her down in the back seat. Blukic and Driba soon joined her, with Max taking the front seat next to Rook.

"Don't you worry, little lady. Ben's gonna be 100% A.O.K." Blukic reassured her as

Rook drove alone.

"He'll at least be 99% okay." Driba corrected his partner.

"No he won't." Blukic argued.

"yes he will." Driba shot back.

"No, he won't."

"Yes, he will."

No he won't."

"Yes he will!"

"No he won't!"

"YES. HE. WI-"

"Will you two knock it off!?" Grandpa Max shouted, silencing both of the tiny aliens.

"Can't you see that she's deeply fraught?"

The two Galvans hung their heads in shame and stayed quiet for the entire trip back to Ester's village.

As the Proto-TRUK drove over the bumpy road, slightly jostling its passengers, Ester couldn't help but cry. Why had Ben been shot? Be had saved the universe at least 3 times, and other worlds and people as countless as there were stars in the sky. Sure, Ben had his share of enemies, but even they at least respected him to a point where they even feared him at times. She sighed.

There would always be people like Harangue in the universe, whether it was right or not. Whether she liked it or not. Harangue didn't trust Ben with the Omnitrix because he was a teenager. Yet, Ben had proven to be worthy of wielding the device, despite the thousands of dollars he caused in property damage every time there was a massive fight.

She continued to think as Rook announced that they had arrived and carried her to her house.

She barely even noticed as Rook gently set her down on her bed, and stayed long enough to prepare her a quick meal and drink, in case she hungry when no one was able to help her. But she couldn't care less. She could hardly get to sleep that night, with only one thing on her mind.

_Ben._


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Yes, it's me, Creaturemaster!**

**I just wanted to thank all the people who have viewed my story, as well as the few people who have followed it! I would however, appreciate some more reviews so I know if I'm doing a good job or not. Big thanks to CorvoKuro for my first review!**

**And now for the bad news. Because it is getting to be toward the end of the school year where I live, I will not able to update this story as frequently as I would want to. So if updates are sparse, now you know why! However, once the school year is over, I will be updating this story as much as possible! So, hold tight! I SHALL RETURN!**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND COMMENT!**

A pounding headache. That's all Ben could remember.

He didn't know where he was or what he was. A splitting headache was all he could remember.

With a weary groan he attempted to get up but limbs refused to move. His senses were disoriented and hazy at best. He could faintly hear a series of sounds that sounded like people speaking, but his brain couldn't process their words, nor could he see clear enough to find out who they were.

"Uggggggggggghhhhhhhh." he moaned again, half hoping someone would heard him.

"Ssssshhhhhh! I think he's waking up!"

Ben blinked his eyes, and the world slowly became clearer to him. A blinding light was poised right above his head, making it near impossible to make anything out. Thankfully, a figure loomed over him to his right, blocking out the blaring light.

"Ben? Honey? Are you okay?" the figure said in a sweet feminine voice. He blinked his eyes again and saw a wave of blonde hair and piercing green eyes, filled with worry, anger, and regret.

"Mom?" Ben managed to gasp before Sandra Tennyson grabbed him into a hug.

"Oh, I was so worried! I didn't think my Ben could be so fragile!" she cried, holding him close.

"Uh, Mom? I'm a 12 ft tall alien that weighs almost a ton and has the ability to grow 60 ft tall, plus the fact that I can lift a semi truck over my head. You call that fragile?" Ben semi-joked.

Sandra smiled and wiped away a tear from her eye. "I know Ben. It's just that, when they called me and said you'd been shot I thought you were dead! They never mentioned that you were Titanosaurus!"

"Humungousaur." Ben corrected her. With a painful huff he hauled himself up, bumping his head on the low ceiling of the Plumber's Emergency Room. Blukic and Driba sat on top of a regular sized desk drinking a pair of Grasshopper Smoothies. Grandpa Max sat in the desk's chair, reading a book.

"Ugh. What happened?" he asked, rubbing his numb skull. "All I remember is me and Harangue duking it out. If you could call taking on a tiny squid a match." Ben said.

Sandra shifted uncomfortably where she stood and bit her lip. Ben caught the small movement and raised an eyebrow. "Mom? What's going on?" he asked. "Am I stuck as Humungousaur forever!?"

"Naw, it's not that Ben." Grandpa Max said, standing up from his chair and clapping the book shut.

"You just might want to see for yourself."

Max reached for a mirror on the desk and handed it to Humungousaur, who picked it up between two large fingers and held it up to look himself over. Everything seemed fine. Tail was still okay. All his limbs seemed to be where they were and functional. The Omnitrix symbol was still on his chest. And then he reached his face. He nearly dropped the mirror when he caught himself in it.

The entire right side of his face was covered in a dark brown scab and oozing puss. It was seriously one of the most grossest things he had ever seen, right up there between DNAlien vomit and Swampfire zits. The most dramatic thing he noticed however, was the large eye patch over his right eye. It dark black, like one might picture on a pirate. It looped securely around his head.

"Am I gonna be okay?" he asked quietly, setting the mirror down as gently as he could.

"Well, you didn't suffer any brain trauma . . . . . ." Driba piped up from the desk.

"And you didn't get any brain damage up in your noggin . . . . . . ." Blukic added.

"But the eye patch is permanent." Grandpa Max finished.

Humungousaur remained quiet for what seemed to be the longest time.

"Ben?" Sandra asked worriedly.

"Excuse me." Humungousaur growled as he heft himself up, hunched over due to the low ceiling.

"Wait! You can't go!" Driba yelled, spilling his smoothie in the process.

"I. Don't. Care." was the response.

"Where is he going?" Sandra asked in a pressed, worried tone. While she knew what Ben was capable of, even surviving a nuclear detonation to an extent, she didn't want him hurting himself anymore than he already was. Such was the life of your average mother, always worrying if your son was going to be abducting by some alien enemy seeking vengeance, or if your son would be home after saving another planet half a million light years away.

"Track him." Grandpa Max ordered. The two Galvans didn't argue and set to work tracking the Omnitrix on one of the many computer consoles on the desk.

"Here we are. It seems he stopped right outside the base. Right near this 100 ft tall cliff." Driba said, pointing to a flashing dot near a row of wavy lines.

BEEP! BEEP ! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"What in the name of Azmuth's brain? The computer says that there is no 100 ft tall cliff there!"

Driba exclaimed.

"Pull up the exterior security cameras." Grandpa Max suggested. Driba and Blukic quickly tapped and few keys and buttons, and a video stream appeared, showing what looked like to be a cave in of some sort. Rocks and dirt were everywhere, and the small stand of trees that had been sitting above the cliff were now nothing more than a pile of toothpicks and wood shavings.

"Did Ben do . . . ." Sandra asked, shocked at the example of the raw strength and power had shown. "Yep. That's Ben all right." Blukic confirmed. "The tracking signal said he was hear for under 30 seconds. He demolished the cliff in under 20."

"Where is he going now?" Grandpa Max demanded. His grandson was disoriented and angered. If he decided to vent his anger where lives could be in danger . . . .

No, no. Ben wouldn't be that stupid. If he needed to vent his anger he would go to the training room and beat the tar out of the test droids. Or he would go off into the wilderness and do some 'landscaping'.

"Where is heading?" Grandpa Max repeated. Blukic tapped a few more keys while Driba and Sandra still stood gaping mouthed at the destruction Ben had caused.

"Bellwood." Blukic said in a grim tone. "Or to be more precise, Undertown."

Ester was having a rough sleep. For some reason, sleep would always taunt her throughout the night of images of Ben fighting for his life, and then always dying. Sometimes he would be protecting Ester from some invisible harm. Others he would be alone and Ester would be watching like it was a TV show. Either way, he always died. Sometimes he was able to activate the Omnitrix in time to stay alive for a few more seconds. Others, he was too slow and she had to watched helplessly as his weak, human body was beaten and cut into by some invisible enemy. What haunted her the most were his last words.

"Why? Why Ester? Why?" he always managed to gasp before dying. It was during one of these dreams that she was rudely awakened by a deafening noise coming from the front of her house.

BANG! BANG! BANG! Creeee-aaaaaak! CRASH! "Oops."

Ester rubbed her bleary eyes and looked around. Her bedroom was still the same when Rook had carried her in last night. The meal he had prepared for her was still untouched, and no doubt cold and stale. She was however, thirsty. She grabbed the glass of water and gladly drank the drink to her lips.

"Uhhh, Ester? You wake?"

She nearly choked on the water, doing a spit take when she heard that voice. It was deep and booming, loud and confident, yet humble enough to ask her a somewhat polite question.

"Ben?" she called.

"Yeah, it's me." Ben replied.

For a split second Ester completely forgot she had no use of her legs. Instead she through of the covers and jumped out of bed, crawling as fast as she could to the front door. It was somewhat easier getting there once she made it to the smooth tile of the kitchenette and off of the rough carpeting of her bedroom. When she reached the front door, she found it lying on the floor, torn off it's hinges, and a very sheepishly Vaxasaurian wearing an eye patch.

"Sorry about the front door." Humungousaur apologized. "I'll fix it once I change back."

Ester didn't hear it. She was too busy hugging him and crying for joy. "I never thought I'd see you again!" she cried, squeezing her arms even tighter. Humungousaur grinned and gently pried her looped arms off of him. "Geez, it was just a bullet to the head." he joked.

"Now that I say that out loud, it _does _sound a lot worse than I thought it to be."

Ester grinned sheepishly as Ben set her back down on the ground. "Sorry. I was just worried."

BWEE! BWEE! BWEE! BWEE! FOOM!

"Finally! I was wondering when that was going to happen." Ben said as he stretched his now human arms and legs. The black eye patch remained hooked around his head.

"Hey, uh, Ben?" Ester asked, a little afraid it would offend him. "What's with the eye patch?"

"Apparently taking a bullet to the head means I have to permanently wear an eye patch for the rest of my life." he grumbled. "Or least until they can make me a new eye or something like that. Whichever comes first." he joked. "Now, do you have anything to do, or did I come down all the way here for nothing?" Ester smiled, a semi-evil grin split across her face.

"Now that you mention it, I do need to make some rounds around the village." she said, trying to sound unsuspecting. "Can you give me a lift?"

Ben grinned. "Can Humungousaur lift a truck?" Ben's hand cycled through the Omnitrix until he found a suitable alien. With a slap on the wrist, a flash of green light, and the magical watch, Ben was transformed from a 16 year old teen into a Geochelone Aerio wearing an eye patch.

"Terraspin? Again?" Ben asked confused as he looked himself over. Ester smiled. The Omnitrix was working in her favor for now.

**I apologize for the short chapter. I wanted to get one more in before my life got busy. Just remember that I will try to update as much as possible. AND PLEASE COMMENT AND REVIEW! Oh, and for those that are confused, this story takes place after the episode 'Catfight'. If Ben and Ester appear together in a future episode, you can be sure they will be in here. Provided that it happens before I end the story. We'll have to see. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

**OK, just to be clear, I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING BEN 10 OR OTHER WISE! MAN OF ACTION IS THE GENIUS MASTERMIND BEHIND MY FAVORITE SHOW. Now that that's cleared up, I'd just like to say I'd to love hear more comments from you. If you have any suggestions for what's to come up next, I'll gladly listen. And if you have any jokes with Rook in it, please post! I'm running out of Earth terms for Rook to goof up on!**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

"Woo-hoo!" Ester whooped as Terraspin spun through the air at a somewhat leisurely fast pace.

"This is more fun than last time!"

Terraspin grinned and did a quick barrel role, turning Ester upside down for a brief moment before spinning back up. Ester laughed as the whizzed over the Kraaho village, making the few short errands Ester had to make. They had first stopped to see how some construction on some new huts were coming along. Things were fine, if not slow. Ben had gladly flown some materials up to a high cliff, much to the thanks of the workers; it saved at least an hours work.

Next, they made a quick stop by the food stores to make sure nothing had been taken during the night. While the Kraaho were perfectly able to leave the Hot Spot, they didn't really like do so unless it was completely necessary. None of them but Ester were equipped to last more than a few seconds outside. To solve the problem, they had set aside pieces of land where they grew crops that could grow in extreme heat, mostly seeds left over from their migration to Earth. Now they faced a new problem; starving alien hobos would often perform raids on the crops when not guarded carefully.

Ben had promised to ask for some security tech once he got back to Plumber HQ.

The final stop they needed to do was go out grocery shopping. Ben had questioned why Ester needed groceries, and remembering the human designed fridge back at Ester's home, didn't question it further.

"Where to now?" Terraspin asked as they flew over the bustling market of Undertown.

"Gracnar's Tentacles? Uhunto's Amoeba Smoothies? Pakmar's Fruit and Veggie Stand?"

"I think you might want to stay away from that last one." Ester suggested as they flew over the small alien's fruit cart. The small businessman loudly cursed and shook his fist at Terraspin's shadow, but the words were too far away to understand, thankfully.

"Over there." Ester ordered, pointing to a large abandoned subway tunnel. A pair of rusted rail tracks dangled over the edge of the tunnel and out into the air. The tracks were roughly severed, most likely cut out when the cavern for Undertown was carved out. Now the subway tunnel was used as a sort of highway for aliens to go to the surface and back.

Terraspin flew through the dark tunnel like he had done before, swerving down a left tunnel and then a right when Ester gave him directions. The tunnels had long since been abandoned, with any station they passed closed from above, no doubt now covered by some building or road. The stations they passed by were littered with old wrappers and layers of dust. Rats could be seen scurrying through the little light that was provided by drainage systems and thousands of bats could be heard chattering over head. Occasionally, a couple of the bats would swoop down and fly level to Terraspin's head, no doubt confused at the sight of a flying turtle.

"Up ahead." Ester instructed. Terraspin could see a circle of light, signaling the exit to the labyrinth of tunnels. He put on in extra burst of speed and zoomed through the damp air of the tunnels, the blinding light at the end of the tunnel getting ever closer. Ester had to hold on tighter as Terraspin kicked it up a notch. Her bright pink hair was blowing back behind her as they came closer and closer until they suddenly popped out from a previously boarded up train tunnel. They were now in a sunny business part of town with plenty of trees and green areas. Off a little ways, one could see several human houses with neat green lawns and white picket fences.

"So where are we?" Terraspin asked, hovering just outside of the tunnel.

"Mr. Baughmann's Grocery Store." Ester said simply, pointing to a large, somewhat human looking grocery store. Any other human that stepped inside however, would be surprised to see aliens of all different shapes and sizes and from all corners of the galaxy shopping for everyday foods and ingredients. There was even a small bar area with spinning stools for customers that wanted dine out for a while. Mr. Baughmann gladly served them their meals, as long as they were able to pay.

"Uh, that may not be such a good idea, Ester." Terraspin said in a nervous tone.

"Every time I go in there, I usually have to spend a pretty good chunk of a week cleaning up."

Ester smiled evilly. She was loving playing around with Ben. She had been to Mr. Baughmann's store several times in the past, and the two had become good friends. She would often go out to run errands for him, and in return, she could dine at the bar for free, provided she didn't she didn't bring any friends and the likes with her.

"So, just change into another alien if you have to." Ester said smiling.

BWEE! BWEE! BWEE! BWEE! FOOM!

"Crud!" Ben cried as he fell to the ground, and landed on a not-so-soft pile of gravel and rocks leftover from some construction. Most likely from the tunnel that had been boarded up and never completed.

Ester fell down right on top of him, landing smartly on her back, and accidentally jabbing one of her elbows into his sensitive area.

"Oof!" Ben yelped. "Sorry." Ester apologized as she carefully crawled off of him. Ben's left eye was watering slightly from the sharp pain and he was trying so hard not to yelp. Ester smiled slightly.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Y-Yeah. I-I-I'm fine!" he managed to gasp as he shakily got himself up from the gravel.

He took a few moments to catch his breath before taking one deep breath and straightening up in a composed position, acting as if nothing embarrassing had happened just moments ago.

"Ready?" he asked Ester, who jerked her head yes.

Ben quickly tapped the Omnitrix and slapped down on it, letting the transformation consume his body.

He felt himself grow taller by at least a foot and a half. His jaw jutted outward and he felt his tongue become long and elastic-like. His four fingers fused into two, leaving his thumb alone. A pair of gloves quickly covered them up. His feet melded into two toes and a heel. Muscles piled themselves on top of each other as he felt himself grow stronger and stronger. The final transformation was the slick feeling as a light coat of slime covered his skin. A tight, yet comfortable jumpsuit fitted itself over the skin, and an air tank hooked itself to his back. The morphing was complete.

"Bullfrag!?" he yelled in a thick and exaggerated Boston accent.

"I was hoping fer XLR8 or Feedback or sometin'!"

Ester smiled at Ben's discontent and laughed out loud, unable to control herself.

Bullfrag smiled slightly and put on a mock angry tone.

"Oh, you tink dis is funny? How do ya like dis!?" he yelled, unleashing his long tongue. The wet appendage gave a long, slimy lick upside Ester's face, drenching her in a thick layer of saliva.

"Eeeee-eeeeewwwwwwww!" Ester yelled, trying to stifle her laughter.

"Ben!"

Bullfrag smiled. "Hey, don't blame me, blame dis DNA!" he yelled, using the same line he had used when Kevin nearly threw up after watching him sweet talk Attea. He had to admit, while Bullfrag himself did have some attraction to Attea, Ben himself was not in the mood for a froggy, alien girlfriend. And he had been some what relieved and confused when both she and Looma had strictly rejected him as a husband and began a feud over who had to have him as a husband.

"'ere, take dis." he said, handing her a handkerchief from a hidden pocket. Ester took it without question and wiped the slime off of her face before handing the damp tissue back to Bullfrag. The Incursean took between two fingers and tossed it aside into a garbage can near the sidewalk.

"Ready?" he asked as he hefted Ester up onto his broad shoulders. Ester gave him the thumbs up and the two walked toward the grocery store. Bullfrag held Ester as gently as he could by her broken legs while she rested her head on her arms that rested on his head. The two entered the air conditioned store where Bullfrag bent down long enough for Ester to grab a grocery basket.

"Welcome to Baughmann's Grocery!" an old and cheerful voice said. Bullfrag looked up to see Mr. Baughmann wiping the counter with a rag, looking as cheerful as ever.

_Probably because I haven't been here in weeks, _Bullfrag thought as he walked closer to the counter and stopped, looming for the short, portly man that stood behind it.

"I'm Mr. Baughmann, and if there is anything I ca-" he paused as he looked Bullfrag up and down, suspiciously. "Do I know you?"

"Hi, Mr. Baughmann!" Ester exclaimed, her face popping out from behind Bullfrag's head. Mr. Baughmann jumped back slightly, lightly clutching the area where his heart was.

"Ester! Goodness, you scared the living daylights out of me!" he exclaimed.

"Who's your-oh, no! Not you! Anyone but you!"

"AO, Mr. Baughmann." Bullfrag said sheepishly.

"YOU! Get out of my store before you break anything!" Mr. Baughmann begged.

"Don't worry Mr. Baughmann! We're just here to shop." Ester said reassuringly. She then proceed to explain to him the whole story, leaving out the part about a new resident To'kustar that might visit his store sometime. The old man was under enough stress at the moment, and didn't need to be worried about a 100 ft tall giantess accidentally squashing his store.

"So until I can walk again, Ben's gonna be my loyal man, er, alien servant!" she said happily.

"Ta put it bluntly." Bullfrag corrected her.

Mr. Baughmann glared at him for a good five minutes before he finally surrendered to the pleading look Ester was giving him. "Fine. But I want you out of my store within 20 minutes!" he yelled, shaking a finger at the intimidating Incursean. Bullfrag gave him a thumbs up and left the counter with Ester smiling happily on his shoulders.

"The things I do for my customers." he grumbled.

CRASH!

"BEN!" Mr. Baughmann roared, his eyes shut tight with rage

"It wasn't me! I didn't do nothing!" he heard Bullfrag's voice yell from the other side of the store.

Mr. Baughmann cracked open an eye and looked to see a display stand that used to hold radishes, lying on the floor. Amongst the radishes was a small, light blue Polymorph. A taller alien, this one a deep purple slid over and began to quietly yell at the small child in a garbled language that Mr. Baughmann could only understand bits of. The small Polymorph nodded his head and set to work picking up the radishes while his mother slipped off to finish her shopping.

"Get a hold of yourself, Baughmann." he said quietly to himself.

"Just because he's in your store, doesn't mean he's going to break anything."

THUD! GLUGUGUGUGUGUGUG!

"Okay, dat one _was _me!" Bullfrag called. "Don't worry! Just a carton o' juice!"

"Eeerrrggghh!" Mr. Baughmann cried, tearing out a bit of his hair as he did so.

"EVERY! SINGLE! TIME!"

"Okay, I think we're done here." Ester said as she ran through a mental grocery list.

"Good. I don't now 'bout yous, but I'm pretty sure Baughmann's not gonna last much longer."

Bullfrag said as he peeked out from behind a shelf full of flour and tentacles.

"He's practically givin' himself a haircut over der!"

Ester peeked above the shelf to see Mr. Baughmann grumbling and cursing under his breath as he wiped the counter with a rag again, even though Bullfrag had licked up the juice with his tongue, much to Ester's disgust. The two headed for the checkout, Ester ducking under signs that hung from the ceiling, advertising the store's merchandise and goods.

"Did you find everything okay?" Mr. Baughmann recited in a cold tone as they approached the checkout. Bulfrag was almost scared to from the way Mr. Baughmann was glaring at him.

"Uh, yeah. We did." Bullfrag replied. "And don't worry 'bout the spill. I cleaned dat up."

Mr. Baughmann seemed to relax a bit, if not more than a few degrees. He quickly proceeded to scan all of Ester's purchases while Bullfrag bagged them, taking a guess as to which were breakable and which were firm enough to be a base. He couldn't even tell what half the foods were, with a few exceptions. "You done 'ere?" Bullfrag asked Ester. Ester nodded and grabbed hold of one of the bags while Bullfrag payed up, dumping a dozen Taydens onto the counter and counting out the proper amount, putting in an extra few to pay for the juice.

"Let's go." Bullfrag said as he picked up the rest of the bags and headed for the door.

"Thank you! Come again!" Mr. Baughmann recited.

"Really?"

"NO!"


	5. Chapter 5

**OK, to start off with, thank you for the new reviews. I feel so inspired knowing that people are loving this story. As always, please comment and review my story so that I may make it better for all my viewers. Second, I have a comment from 6UnTalentedArtist9 that I think deserves to be mentioned.**

"Ok I know this is your story, but why didn't he just go Swampfire and regenerate his eye? It can grow a new head when it's blasted off...**"**

**Well, to answer that question is because Ben was unconscious at the time, not to mention dazed and ticked. Plus, while Swampfire may be able to regenerate any part of his body, I'm not sure if he can grow such a small part of it back. Plus, with his new look and power, I'm not sure if he still has that ability or not. Also, I just thought it would make for a better story line. I'm not trying to be rude or jerky, I just thought I should mention this kind of thing, because this is the kind of thing I want to hear from you guys. I also apologize for how the story appears on mobile and computer devices. Open Office doesn't exactly cooperate to what I want it to do. Anyway, that's all for now. Please review.**

"You sure ya got everyt'ing ya needs?" Bullfrag inquired as he walked the tunnel back to Undertown. The tunnel was still dark and dank, and the sound of something scurrying in the darkness could be heard every few minutes.

"Yep. That's the last of it." Ester said cheerfully.

"Good. I'm pretty sure Grandpa Max an' Rook are worried 'bout me." Bullfrag said as they came back into Undertown. "It ain't everyday I walk out on 'em wit an injury."

"True," Ester said smiling. "By the way, do you have an eye patch under those sun glasses of yours?"

"Don't know." Bullfrag replied simply as he hopped down to a low roof.

"Can I see?" Ester asked curiously.

"Uh, I guess?" Bullfrag asked confused. "Why?"

"Just curious." Ester replied simply. Bullfrag coked an eyebrow but shrugged his shoulders.  
He then reached up for his sunglasses and was about to talk them off when a quick beeping sound interrupted. It was Ester's Plumber badge.

"Hello?" she answered, shouldering the shopping bag.

"Ester! Are you at all injured?" Rook's voice asked.

"No. Why would I be?" she asked.

"Because Ben has disappeared! We last tracked the Omnitrix to Undertown, and we thought he might head to you."

"Why would you be so worried about Ben? He's fine!"

"It is what he did. He destroyed a 100 ft tall cliff in a fit of rage! In less than 20 seconds!"

Ester stayed silent as she looked at Bullfrag. Bullfrag however, didn't let anything show as Ester and Rook talked about him while he was walking.

"And I should be worried, why?" Ester asked.

"Because he is armed, dangerous, and 12 ft tall!" Rook practically yelled.

"He's fine, Rook." Ester said calmly. "He stopped by my place about an hour ago. Other than accidentally breaking down my front door, he didn't hurt me in any way. We even went shopping!"

"Um, ok? What form is he currently in?" Rook asked.

"Bullfrag. Incursean. Carrying me home as we speak." Ester replied calmly.

"Now is that all, or do you have a bee in your bonnet?"

"I do not wear 'bonnets', nor do I have a bee in one. I did however, do some research on the social structure of honey bees in case we-"

"It's just an expression, Rook." Ester sighed.

"Talk to you later. Bye."

"So?" Bullfrag asked as he walked through the Undertown market place.

"Just Rook asking if I was fine and stuff. What's this about you and anger management issues?"

"I, uh, kinda got mad when I foun' out da eye patch was permane't." Bullfrag explained.

"I was Humungousaur at the time." Ester rolled her eyes and directed Bullfrag down a road. Since their last adventure, Ester had downloaded a map of Undertown, so now she was able to navigate the crowded roads with some what limited ease; they only had to stop and ask directions from a grumpy Walkatrout, who was not to happy to have to talk to someone taller than him.

Bullfrag soon found himself hopping down familiar rock ledges and across boulders as he walked the familiar path to the Kraaho village, otherwise known as the Hotspot. They soon entered the village. It was roasting hot as usual. Most of the buildings were built out a mixture of mud brick and modern materials like steel and plaster. Wood was not commonly found down here for fear of catching fire from the extreme heat. Ester's house was different than the rest of the village. It was a tad bigger than the rest, with a mud brick base and shiny metal walls with clear glass windows in the sides. The roof was low and made out of human made shingles. The door (what was left of it anyway) resembled a regular human made front door made out of stainless steel.

"Is der anyt'ing else I can 'elp ya wit?" Bullfrag asked as he dumped the groceries on the counter and gently set Ester down on the couch, which faced a rather old and outdated TV set. A blender and microwave sat on top of the counter in the kitchenette next to the sink. There was no oven. A row of small cupboards sat overhead, filled with a small amount of dishes and silverware.

"Nah, I'm good." Ester said as she put her arms behind her head and relaxed.

"Good. Now, since you're in my bed, I'll snooze in yours until dinner time, or somet'ing." Bullfrag said as he lurched off to Ester's room.

"You do that now." Ester said sleeplessly. She yawned and was about to doze off when

the full force of Ben's words hit her like a fully armed Proto-TRUK.

"What do you mean, 'you're in my bed'!?" she yelled down the short hallway to her bedroom.

Bullfrag soon came out after a couple of seconds, still impossible to read behind those sunglasses of his. He walked over to the couch and sat down next to her, easily towering over her.

"Well, ya o'viously can't live like dis for da next couple a mont'es or so. And I can't keep marchin' down here every mornin' to check on yas. So I thought I might as well temporarily move in ta take care of yas." Bullfrag explained, as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe.

Ester was stunned. Her cheeks were flushed a dark pinkish red. On the one hand, Ben cared enough to move out of the comfort of his own home to take care of her in her own. On the other hand, it _was_ _her _home. Still, she smiled. She was going to enjoy this.

"Fine," she said, trying to sound serious and in charge. "But there are going to be a few house rules."

"Lay 'em on me." Bullfrag said, readying for anything she might throw at him.

"Rule 1: No transformations in the house unless it's either an emergency or I say so. Rule 2: No going into my room without my permission. Rule 3: No touching anything in my room without my permission. Rule 4: If you have to help me to the bathroom for any reason, DON'T BE A PERVERT!"

she listed, practically yelling out the last part.

"I would never do somet'ing like da ta yous." Bullfrag said, putting his hands up in mock defense.

"I mean it, Ben." Ester growled, curling back her lip slightly. Bullfrag, without any hesitation, agreed to the house rules. Ester breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a little. Then a thought occurred to her.

"And you are to keep your 'bed room' clean at all times." she added.

"What!?" Bullfrag exclaimed. Ester smirked.

"I mean it, Ben." she repeated. "My house, my rules."

"Fine." Bullfrag sighed. "Is dat all I can do fer yas, or do ya want me to blot out da sun wit a hankie?"

Ester smiled and shoved him playfully.

BWEE! BWEE! BWEE! BWEE! FOOM!

"Finally! I think that one lasted longer than usual." Ben said as he got up the couch and stretched.

"I'll be back in an hour." said Ben as he walked to the front door that was still lying on the floor.

"Where are you going?" Ester asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Gonna go tell Grandpa Max, Rook, and Mom where I'll be for a while." he said walking out.

"And picking up some new hinges for your door!" he called back. Ester smiled and lay down on the couch, stretching her arm to reach the TV remote that sat on the coffee, and flicking on the TV set.

It was rather old and outdated by human standards, with a pair of bunny ear antennae on top. Not that you could get much reception down here. She just liked it better with them. She had salvaged it from a human junkyard a couple years ago and gotten it outfitted and upgraded from an old friend of hers who was good with that kind of thing. She now got over 200 channels by cable (don't ask how) and was able to rewind and record shows, unlike other TV sets. The problem was that it would sometimes go to static and stay that way for what seemed an incredibly long time. Her friend had been unable to fix that.

_Maybe Ben can fix it as that Upgrade guy he talks about, _Ester thought. That drew her thoughts back to her living arrangement with Ben.

Sure he was sweet, goofy, fun, and serious at times, but he was still a teenage boy through and through. And she had heard of several cases that involved teenage boys and girls that she didn't like happening to her. _Although, _she thought, _I'm pretty sure he would never do anything like that. Would he?_

Even if it was Ben, she was still uncomfortable living with anyone she wasn't related to in a rather small looking house with only one bathroom. Then again, she was going to have fun with Ben, whether he liked it or not. She smiled as she thought of what she could do to him.

_Oh, yes. You are going to _love _it here, Ben._ She thought, smiling wickedly.

"Benjamin Kirby Tennyson! You are not moving in with some alien teenage girl you barely even know!" Sandra Tennyson yelled at her son. It was about an hour later at Plumber HQ, where Grandpa Max had been just about ready to send half a dozen squads to retrieve what could have possibly been an incredibly dangerous Ben. He even thought about sending out the new To'kustar recruit to get him, but that had proved entirely unnecessary when Ben had walked back into HQ in his human form with a happy smile on his face. After explaining what happened, they had finally let him out of the questioning room they had stuffed him the moment he came in. Ben had not been entirely pleased.

And then came the part where he told them about his living arrangement with Ester. That had been where things went downhill. Grandpa Max had seemed to be okay with it, just making sure Ben wouldn't neglect his Plumber duties. Rook had been slightly confused when Ben had told him this, asking if he and Ester had secretly gotten married.

"What!? No!" Ben had yelled. "It's just until she can move herself around without me or anyone else helping her!"

"Then why are you doing it when someone else could?" Rook asked, smiling slightly.

"Because she wanted me to!" Ben argued.

Rook smirked, and accepted what Ben had said to be true, though he would continue to tease Ben about it in the days to come. Sandra, on the other hand, was a different story all together. She had only met Ester once, and that had been when Looma had stuffed Ester in a sack and offered her, Rook, Julie, and some other guy as a wedding gift to her.

"Mom, it's only for a couple of months!" Ben argued. "And besides, she lay down a few house rules."

"Oh, is one of them to 'watch your head, I may decide to spit acid at your face and disfigure it even more'?" Sandra yelled sarcastically.

"Mom, Ester can not spit acid. She's like a normal human being, only she needs to live in a hot place, and she can stretch her arms and legs." Ben said as calmly as he could. Sandra still remained unconvinced. Ben sighed. He had one last plan in mind, but it was as a last resort, and he knew his Mom nor Ester would be entirely thrilled with the idea. He sure wasn't.

"Ok, how about this? You come over for dinner and meet her. If she's okay, I stay until she's recuperated. If not, I continue to help her around while still living with you." Ben suggested. Sandra turned her steely gaze to Grandpa Max who shrugged his shoulders.

"You must have gotten your ability to convince people from your father." Sandra said, surrendering.

Ben pumped his fist and put on a cheesy grin. "Lets go!" he said.

"Now?" Sandra asked, a little worried. "But I haven't even dressed up!"

"Mom, it's dinner at Ester's, not some fancy restaurant." Ben said rolling his eyes.

"Ok, let me just grab my car keys and-"

"Mom, you can't get to Undertown by car." Ben interrupted. "You have to either take a special bus there, or you have to walk there." Ben then quickly reached for the Omnitrix and scrolled through his aliens until he found the one he was looking for.

"Ben! Wait-" Sandra started, but stopped short when the familiar green light flooded the room, briefly blinding her. When the light cleared, a tall, lean figure with short spikes on his elbows and ankles emerged. He was entirely black with a navy blue stripe down his middle. Two spiky fins split above his eyes and back behind his head.

"Fasttrack!" Ben called out his a high, rapid speaking voice. "What do ya know? That is kinda fun!"

"Ben?" Sandra asked nervously. While she was rather impressed with some of Ben's alien forms, there were a few she was scared of. This one she had never seen before.

"Hang on, Mom!" Ben called out. Faster than Sandra could blink, Fasttrack was gone from he had been and was now standing next to her. Another blink and she was being carried down the hall at 500 mph, in the arms of the Citrakayah. She yelped and clung tighter as they exited the base and were running through the forest. 10 seconds later and they were on the outskirts of town. Another 10, and they were at a large tunnel opening. Another 10 and they were racing through the underground streets of Undertown, with many alien citizens yelling and complaining behind them as they ran. Another 10 seconds later and they were at the doorstep of a small house with a busted down door.

"Gah! That reminds me!" Fasttrack exclaimed. "Wait here!" he said as he put Sandra down before zipping away again. Sandra remained where she was as she took in her surroundings. The place she was in was extremely hot, as was proven when she saw a glowing waterfall of lava in the distance. The buildings were rather crude looking and ancient, as if they had been there for hundreds of years, when she guessed they had probably been there for a couple. Strange beings with pink skin and large, bushy eyebrows resembling ice walked about, some starring at her as she stood there.

"Ben?" a voice called from inside the building she had been told to wait at.

"Is that you?"

SHOOM!

"Yeah, it's me! Give a sec!" Fasttrack called as he quickly set to work with the screws, hinges and screwdriver he had brought with him. Within moments, the door was back to it's original place, with Sandra still waiting wide eyed outside. The door opened, and a smiling Fasttrack gestured her to come inside. Sandra quickly did so, eager to get away from the starring faces outside.

"Ben, who is this?" a young feminine voice asked. Sandra turned to see a parka wearing, pink skinned girl lying on the couch wrapped up in a blanket. The TV set was on mute, showing a silent showing of a teenage boy with dark black hair, a pair of goggles, and red jacket, and a pair of bio-mechnical looking fists where his regular human arms should have been.

"Ester, meet my Mom, Sandra." Fasttrack said. "She was kinda skeptical about the whole living arrangement, so we made a sort of bet; she have dinner here, and if she likes you, I stay. If not, I go."

Ester cocked his eyebrow, looking up and down at Sandra, but slowly nodded after a while.

"Good. You two get acquainted while I cook dinner." Fastttrack said, slowly walking to the kitchenette.

"Any requests?"

"Well, since we have a guest tonight, I'll let her choose." Ester said polity. Inside however, she was seething. The moment Sandra came into the house, she knew there was going to be trouble.

"Can you make macaroni and cheese?" Sandra asked. Fasttrack nodded and set to work getting out the pot and ingredients. "And I'd like mine without tentacles!" she yelled over the noise.

"Excuse me?" Ester growled, offended. "I do _not _eat tentacles."

"Sorry." Sandra apologized. "I get a little over reactive when I'm around extraterrestrials. That means-

"I know what it means." Ester said coldly. Sandra took the hint and dropped the subject.

Sandra took a deep breath and closed her eyes, attempting to calm herself.

"Okay, we got off on the wrong foot," she said turning to Ester and resisting the urge to add 'tentacle' or 'pseudopod'. "Hi, I'm Sandra Tennyson. You're Ester, right?"

Ester relaxed slightly as she stiffly nodded her head. She was wasn't particularly fond of this woman so far, but she had to give her bonus points for attempting to start over again with a clean slate.

"So, are you in charge around here?" Sandra asked, trying to remember the things Ben had mentioned about the Kraaho girl. Ester nodded her head again, deciding to remain silent.

"No parents?" Sandra asked. Ester shook her head no.

Silence.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" Sandra asked awkwardly.

"What do you like to do for fun?" Sandra asked, trying to keep the conversation going while Fasttrack was rapidly cooking away in the kitchenette. Something was already cooking, and it smelled a _whole lot_ better than what Max had tried to feed her back at HQ. She thought she saw something move around in the soup he was making. At least, she _thought _it was soup.

"I play street hockey with my friends." Ester replied.

"Oh? Who are they?" Sandra asked.

"Kinecelerans."

"What?" Sandra asked, confused at what Ester had just said.

"They're XLR8's, Mom!" Fasttrack called from the kitchenette. "Dinner's almost ready!"

"Smells good, honey." Sandra called to him before returning her attention to Ester.

"How did you and Ben meet?" Sandra asked.

Ester bit her lip. This was where it could have all gone down hill. She had to choose her words carefully around this woman. "We met when I 'borrowed' a fusion device, and he and his partner were assigned to chase after me. We then worked together when the Kraaho tried to take over the Earth by melting it with molten lava."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. You mean to tell me _you_ were responsible for covering half the city in molten rock? And you _stole _a fusion-whatever do to it? You're a thief?" Sandra practically yelled.

"Ex-thief. And I was doing it to keep my people alive, thank you very much!" Ester shot back.

"Dinner's ready!" Fasttrack yelled from the kitchenette. In a black and blue blur, three plates of steaming macaroni and cheese sat waiting on the table. In a second blur, Ester vanished from the couch and appeared sitting at one of the three seats at the table. Fasttrack sat in the chair to her right, leaving an empty seat for Sandra directly across from Ester. Sandra stiffly got up the couch and walked to her seat, a continuous glare set on Ester as she sat down.

BWEE! BWEE! BWEE! BWEE! FOOM!

"So, how have things been going?" Ben asked the two girls. Neither took their stare off of each other as they both said "fine." through gritted teeth. Ben sensed things were not exactly going well between the two and decided to try and level things out.

"So . . . . Mom, did I ever tell you when I first met Ester?" Ben asked, trying to make conversation.

"No, but I do believe you failed to mention that your _friend _here is a _thief_" Sandra yelled, pointing a finger in Ester's face. "Not to mention a pyromaniac!"

"I told you, I did _not _cover half the city in lava! It was Seebik!" Ester yelled, banging her fist on the table. There was practically fire in her eyes as she glared at Ben's Mom. Ben sunk down in his seat uncomfortably.

"Well, at least I'm not some alien freak show!" Sandra yelled, throwing her plate of mac and cheese at Ester. The food nailed her straight in the face. The plate slid down, along with most of the noodles and cheese. Bits of the pasta were stuck to her face, and there was a large amount of melted cheese in her hair. But there was something else that didn't involve food.

Ester's face showed complete anger and shock, but deep inside she was expressing pure sadness.

_Why does she hate me so much? What did I ever do to her?_ She wondered.

"Ben? Can we talk for a moment? _In private?_" Ester said through gritted teeth.

Ben took the hint and scooped up Ester, carrying her bridal style to her bedroom, snagging a dish towel along the way. Sandra remained at the table, watching them with a steely gaze.

"I don't think your mom likes me very much." Ester said as she was set down on the bed. Ben closed the door behind them and knelt down to try and wipe some of the mac and cheese from Ester's face.

"That's an understatement." Ben grumbled.

"What does she have against me?" Ester asked, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"She's just not entirely comfortable around things she doesn't know. Took her 2 weeks to get used to seeing me transforming. She's also kind of over protective." Ben explained as he wiped some macaroni from Ester's cheek. "Remember when the story about when my parents found out about the Omnitrix?"

Ester smiled slightly. She did remember Ben telling her that story. It had been the day right after Julie had come back to town. The two had gone to Mr. Smoothies for a break before they went down to the Hot Spot to work on repairs. Needless to say, Ben had told her about his many adventures throughout the galaxy. She had enjoyed every minute of it and didn't even care that they had ended up spending the whole day talking and drinking smoothies. Sure she had needed to practically be roasted over a pit of boiling lava to get warmed up from all the chilled smoothies she drank, but it had worth it. To spend some time alone with Ben.

"She also doesn't trust people who have had a bad streak." Ben added.

"What about Kevin?" Ester asked.

"She accepted him after he helped save her from Zombozo, Charmcaster, and Vulkanus."

Ester's head drooped lower. She was never going to get Ben's mom to except her. Sure, she had excepted Kevin, but that was only after he saved her life and scuttled a ship with DNAliens on it. Julie was out of the question, even though she had a Galvanic Mechamorph puppy. At least _she _was human.

"C'mon now, don't cry." Ben encouraged Ester. The Kraaho girl couldn't help it however, and quickly looped her arms around Ben, pulling him into a tight embrace. Ben froze for a moment, stunnned by the gesture, but soon, wrapped his arms around Ester, holding her tight and not at all minding the cheese he was getting on his face.

**Chapter complete! How many of you noticed the _Generator Rex_ inference in there? Just a small hint at another story in mind, a Ben 10/Generator Rex cross over. Just an FYI, I have no idea if Ester and Sandra would act like this, I just made my best guess based on the Wiki. Anyway, please review and comment if you have any suggestions or complaints.**

**Hint: Next chapter, things are going to get a little out of hand. Or should I say, out of _paw._**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for the new reviews, guys! I would like to thank __ for being a continuous view of my story. And so, I thank you personally . If you have any suggestions to make this story better, please PM me. For now however, let us return to the story of Ben and Ester, and see how things could possibly get worse.**

Sandra felt terrible, to say the least.

When Ben and Ester had gone into Ester's room, she had crept up to the door to listen in on their conversation. What she had heard made her feel terrible.

"I don't think your mom likes me very much." she had heard Ester say.

"That's an understatement." Ben had agreed. Sandra felt her stomach clench. Ben thought she was being rude to Ester? _But how could he? I'm his mother!_

"What does she have against me?" Ester had asked.

_Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that you buried half of Bellwood under molten lava!?_ Sandra had practically yelled. _Why couldn't Ben see that?_

_Because he sees the best in people,_ another voice inside her had said. _Even horrible people like that Vilgax guy he keeps talking about have some good in them. Ben sees it better than you do._ _He obviously sees good in her, and a lot of it. You should trust him, even if you don't trust her._

Sandra sighed. The voice in her head made a valid point. She would have to try to make things better with Ester whether she liked it or not. And then she realized, all she had said were also aimed at Ben. Sure, he was human, but he was armed with a device that could turn him in thousands of different aliens on the molecular scale. So whatever she had just said to Ester, she had also pretty much said to Ben, Kevin, Gwen, Rook, and pretty much every other friend of Ben's she had encountered at one point or another in time. She had never felt so terrible.

"Ben?" she called, tapping lightly on the door. All she was met with was the sound of soft crying behind the wooden door. _Oh, God I feel terrible _she thought.

"Ben?" she called again, this time a little louder.

Nothing happened for agonizing minutes. The door finally squeaked open a crack and a single green eye could be seen.

"What do you want?" Ben asked, resisting the urge to yell at his mother. Sure, he could have turned into an alien at that point and beaten the crud out of her, but that would just make things complicated. For one, it would terrify Ester. Two, it was his mom. Three, if anyone, specifically Harangue caught wind of that, his career as a super hero would be ruined. Well, that and his Plumber badge would be revoked. And who knows? Azmuth might just come and remove the Omnitrix from him, and give it to someone else. That was the least Ben wanted to happen.

"I wanted to apologize." Sandra said, shifting her feet uncomfortably.

The green eye narrowed for a moment, looking her over, before the door closed again. Minutes later the door opened wide with an eye patch wearing Ben holding onto a pink eyed Ester. Dark lines ran down from her eyes to her cheeks, indicating she had been crying. Sandra felt a stab at her heart.

"What do you want?" Ester sniffed.

Sandra bit her lip and hung her head in shame.

"Ester, I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm sorry I insulted you and treated you like dirt. It's just, while

I'm very proud of my son being a world-famous crime fighter and all, I just don't feel comfortable around aliens. You'd think that having a son that could grow a tail, a second pair of arms, or suddenly change into a hundred foot Goliath would have made me think differently, right?"

Ester nodded her head slightly.

"Well, I just knew that no matter what Ben turned into, he would always be my son. But now that I'm surrounded by aliens, I'm worried that I might be treated like I treated you; ridiculed, disliked, maybe even eaten at one point or another. I just don't know if they're going to be friendly or not." Sandra admitted. She uncomfortably twiddled her fingers, waiting for a response.

"Mrs. Tennyson," Ester started, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her parka.

"I . . . I don't know what to say . . ."

"You don't have to say anything, Ester." Sandra said drawing the Kraaho girl into a gentle hug.

"All I have to say is that I approve. You're clearly a worthy friend of my son. And as far as I know, you don't have a habit of blowing things to bits, unlike a certain Osmosian friend of Ben's."

"Hey, just because Kevin accidentally blew up the grill-" Ben argued.

"And the microwave, _and _the TV, _and_ the car . . ." Sandra added.

"Right, right. Point taken." Ben grumbled. "But Kevin did fix the car in record time."

"Yes, that he did. Can't say the same for the TV though." Sandra added with a smile.

Ben rolled his eyes. Even now, Sandra was having second thoughts of Ben hanging out with someone who hadn't been to school in more than 10 years. At least he was a good mechanic.

"Mrs. Tennyson? How would you like a tour of the village?" Ester asked.

"I'm sure it might get over your fear of aliens."

Sandra nodded her head and agreed.

"Alright, I have a feeling this is going to take a while." Ben said. "Just let me get my walking shoes on." With a quick tap of the Omnitrix, he picked an alien and slammed down on the activation button. A bright green light consumed him and a few seconds later, a hulking beast with no eyes, orange fur, and a green collar with the Omnitrix symbol around its neck appeared. The beast quickly looked itself over before growling it's disapproval.

"I'm guessing that wasn't what he was going for." Ester laughed. The Vulpimancer whined before grabbing her gently by the ruff of her parka and pulling her onto his back. There came a soft beeping sound from the Omnitrix on Ben's collar and four sleek green cords shot out of the collar. The first pair wrapped themselves around Ester's waist before hooking together, effectively securing her to the Vulpimancer. The second pair quickly wrapped themselves loosely around Ester's wrists, acting as something like the reins of a horse. "Never did that before." Ester said to herself.

A short jerk to the left moved Wildmutt in the direction of the muted TV. A slight pull to the right moved him toward the kitchenette. After some more experimenting and some close calls Ester finally got the hang of it and maneuvered Wildmutt carefully toward the door where Sandra held it open for them. Moments later they were on the dirt paths of Ester's village, touring the lava dotted landscape.

"Over there's the food silos," Ester said pointing to three tall cylinder's with pointed tops and a ladder bolted to the sides. "And here's where we grow the crops."

"What kind of food do you grow?" Sandra asked, brushing away a wave of sweat. She leaned against Wildmutt's furry side, catching her breath. For something that had no eyes, he sure moved fast.

"Mostly Grabnolia and Hathnues. The first resemble your pineapples and the second is something like a carrot, only it's mostly purple with green rings." Ester said, stretching an arm down and pulling out one of the Hathnues and offering it to Sandra.

"Uh, no thanks." Sandra politely declined.

"You sure? They taste just like butter free popcorn." Ester pressed, waving the vegetable in front of her like one might do to excite a lazy dog. Sandra raised an eyebrow and reached for the plant.

She took a large bite and chewed it thoughtfully.

"Mmm. Mmmmm. You're right, it _does _taste something like popcorn." Sandra said with a full mouth.

"But I'm pretty sure it's the kind _with _butter. Here Ben, you have a try." Sandra said turning to the huge beast. Wildmutt whined and backed away, it's head in a submissive pose.

"Uh, Mrs. Tennyson? I don't think that's good idea . . ." Ester warned her.

"Oh, nonsense. Ben needs to take a break from all that unhealthy junk he's been eating and try some fruits and veggies for once." Sandra insisted, pulling the Vulpimancer's mouth open by the lips. Wildmutt struggled and pulled, but Sandra was stuck fast. She quickly deposited the Hathnue into his mouth and forced it shut, not letting go until he swallowed.

There, you see? That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Sandra said, dusting off her heads. She turned away to gaze at the river of lava that ran through the fields like an irrigation system surrounded on all sides by a protective metal fence. While she wasn't looking, Wildmutt quickly dug a hole in the path they were on and opened his mouth, letting a pile of vile, mucus green slop fall into the hole before

refilling it, just as Sandra turned around.

"Your secret's safe with me." Ester whispered as they moved on. Widlmutt gave an appreciative grunt and sped up as they crossed over the river of lava on bridge made of rock and metal. They toured the rest of the village, Ester pointing out rock formations and Kraaho architecture as they walked on. They were taking a short rest on a rock overlooking a pool of lava when it happened.

"Your village is so nice, Ester!" Sandra complimented the girl. "And the people are so friendly! I can't believe they used to be like me at one time."

"Yeah, well, that all changed after Ben came around." said Ester, scratching Wildmutt on the head as he lolled out his long, wet tongue. "He's been such a big help ever since Looma came around."

"I've noticed that you and Ben do a lot of bonding whenever Looma's around." Sandra said.

"Have you two ever been together _without _Looma trying to marry Ben?"

"Once. We had a movie date." Ester answered, brushing a lock of pink hair out of her face.

"We had another one, but we spent a pretty big chunk of it trying to save Ben from a crazy cat lady. And Looma and Attea _still_ wanted him to be their husbands." she laughed.

Wildmutt growled at the memory of being changed from one alien to another every 2 minutes, but

was quickly calmed down by another scratching by Ester.

"I do have one question, Ester." Sandra said. "How do you stand this much heat?"

"Well, most Kraaho need extreme heat to survive. What may seem like a 100 degrees to you is like suffering through a blizzard in a swimsuit to them. I only find it a little nippy since I'm half Kraaho and half human. It means I can go most places others can't."

A sudden rumbling shook the ground, sending volcanic rocks and debris rolling down the cliffs to plunge and sink into the dotting lava lakes. Ester clung tightly to Wildmutt as the Vulpimancer struggled to stay standing. Sandra held onto his leg for support until the small earthquake subsided.

"Does that happen frequently down here?" Sandra asked, attempting to stand.

"No. Something's not right here, and I don't like it." Ester said, putting a hand over her eyes to get a better look. Another rumble shook the ground, and both Sandra and Wildmutt failed to stay standing. This time however, the rumbling didn't stop. Boulders and rocks tumbled down from the caverns ceiling, smashing into the ground and crushing any houses below.

A short beeping sounded and Ester dug out her Plumbers badge.

"Ester! Do you copy?" Rook's voice yelled.

"I hear ya, Rook. What in the same of Vaxasaurian eggs is going on?"

"Pyroxivore stampede! I need immediate assistance! I repeat, immediate assistance!" Rook yelled

over the screaming, grunting, and over all panic in the background. "Gah!"

"Rook! What happened!?" Ester yelled, worried as heck.

"Nothing, Ester. A Pyroxivore just smashed my Prototool. And it was a very good one too!" he said, yelling the last part at the culprit who had destroyed his weapon.

"Rook! Where the Pyroxivores heading?" Ester cried, an iron grip of worry clutched around her heart.

"They appear to be slithering their way around Undertown." Rook said.

"Rook, Pyroxivores don't slither. Are you saying that they're snaking their way around Undertown?"

"Is that correct expression. Sorry. Blonko out."

The grip of worry eased it's hold around her heart, but it didn't go away. The Kraaho village was located up a ways from the rest of Undertown. If some force drove the stampeding animals up there, it would be complete chaos. The Pyroxivores however, seemed content to stay down below, though.

"Mrs. Tennyson?" Ester asked as she turned to look at the woman.

Sandra smiled and waved a hand. "Go on you two. I know when it's not my business, and I clearly have no idea how to round up these Pyroxivores of yours."

"Hey, you actually said something right!" Ester joked as Wildmutt got up from the lying position he was in to stand up. Although he probably didn't need it, Ester spurred him in the side and whooped as the beast reared in the air, roaring like a lion, before running off toward the source of the rumbling.

"That's my boy." Sandra said smiling as she watched them run off.

"Ugh! It's like trying to swim through pea soup!" Ester cried as she pressed Wildmutt forward. While the Vulpimancer was giving it his all, the continuous rush of large bodies slamming into him was slowing him down as he tried to make his way upstream through the river of Pyroxivores.

"What is this "pea soup" anyway?" a voice asked. Ester felt Wildmutt tip back slightly as a new weight was added onto his back.

Good to see ya, Rook. I'll tell ya later. Right now, we got wrangling to do!" Ester yelled as she snapped the reins and stretched her arm out, twisting it around and hooking her hand onto her rubbery elbow, forming a sort of lasso. "Yee-HAH!"

"I do not see why Earthlings take so much pleasure in this." Rook muttered as he leaped into a nearby booth and jumped back out with a long tentacle slathered in butter and seasoned with spices.

"Hey! You gotta pay for that!" the booth owner yelled. Rook tossed back a couple Taydens before jumping back onto Wildmutt's back and twirling the tentacle over his head like a lasso as well.

"Ride 'em cowboy!" Ester yelled as Wildmutt roared and surged through the herd. Over the next twenty minutes, the trio would run through the stampede, hooking their makeshift lassos around anyone accidentally caught in the fray. Most were extremely grateful and relieved when they were set high up on the safety of the taller builders. However, a certain little alien was not to happy to see them.

"Tennyson! You put Pakmar down right now!" the little salesman yelled as he struggled in Ester's grip.

"Why does he hate Be so much?" Ester wondered as she held Pakmar at arms length. Seeing as she could stretch her arms, this was a very long distance.

"I believe it had something to do with the fact that his house of business, whatever it may be, always ends up getting destroyed by Ben, mostly on accident." Rook replied as he through his tentacle lasso into the herd and pulled out a very thankful family of Nemuina.

"Oh, _right._ Now I remember." Ester said as she remembered the time when Rath and Nyancy Chang had pilfered Pakmar's store for a giant ball of yarn, destroying the store in the process. No amount of glue or Ballweevil spit had helped back the place look like new again.

They quickly deposited the Nemuina and Pakmar on the safety of a building, asking the Nemuina to put him to sleep for a while. They had gladly agreed when Pakmar had started spouting curse words at Ben.

"I am sure that is everyone." Rook said, relaxing slightly.

"Now we just have to stop this stampede." Ester said as Wildmutt to refuge on a roof. The trio took a moment to catch their breath and watch the scene below, with little idea on how to trap the massive, alien animals.

"We could try and put them back in their original pen." Ester suggested as she put a hand over her eyes and looked for the supposed origin of the animals.

"Yes. That did work last time." said Rook. "I only hope it will work again."

"GGGRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGH!" Wildmutt howled.

"I think that means "Lets get this over with,"" Ester translated. "I think."

"Well, then I suggest we do not wait any longer." said Rook as he twirled his tentacle lasso in the air before tossing it and hooking the loop around the thick neck of the lead animal. He pulled back, tightening his grip before jabbing his heel into Wildmutt's flank.

The Vulpimancer roared in protest and ran away, dragging the heavy Pyroxivore with it. As they rode through the maze of booths and shops, the lassoed Pyroxivore squealed and struggled. The rest of the herd perked up and followed with gusto, only focused on following their comrade. The ground rumbled as the herd stampeded through the streets, Ester steering Wildmutt as best as she could. They turned left, and right, even doing a full loop to backtrack back toward the Pyroxivore's pen.

"Hang on!" Ester yelled as she steered Wildmutt to the left. Unfortunately, her turning was a tad off and they crashed into a booth that sold socks. Wood splintered, and Ester cried out as a heavy beam smashed against her leg. Wildmutt howled as his paws filled with splinters, and Rook ignored the pain as a sock cover in spikes embedded itself into his thigh. The Pyroxivores seemed indifferent and smashed right through anything that got in their way, crushing them under their large feet.

As the herd approached, Wildmutt ignored the throbbing of his paws and struggled to his feet, inching forward as he carried the weight of his friends and a 2 ton Pyroxivore.

"They're gaining!"Ester cried, spurring Wildmutt in the side with her bad leg. She ignored the feeling that her leg was on fire and snapped the reins. Wildmutt roared and surged forward toward the waiting pen. "Just a bit further!" Rook urged.

"Hee-YAH!" Ester cried, snapping the reins again. Wildmutt roared again and ran through he open gate. The herd thundered through without another thought, their full attention on pursuing their leader without question.

"Quickly! We must patch the hole!" Rook yelled, letting his tentacle lasso fly into the sea of bodies that filled the pit. Ester nodded her head and snapped the reins again, pushing Wildmuttt to the opening in the pen, the beast shouldering his way through the herd with speed until he was out of the pen. Rook quickly leaped off an ran over to a pile of of debris and dragged out several wooden planks.

"Ben, can you launch your quills and nail these in place?" Rook asked, holding a board up. Wildmutt nodded his head and bowed. Ester leaned back and covered her face as she felt a slight breeze. She opened her eyes to see the plank nailed perfectly in place by four quills, and poor Rook nailed to the fence by his Proto-Armor.

Wildmutt proceeded to finish blocking the exit and pulling Rook off the fence just before the familiar beeping sound filled all their ears.

BWEE! BWEE! BWEE! BWEE! FOOM!

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" Ben cried as the pain of his splinters filled his senses. "Oof!" he yelped as the full weight of Ester fell onto his back. With what little strength he had, he reached for the Omnitrix on his wrist and activated it, scrolling through the list of aliens before selecting one and pressing the activation button. In a flash of light, Arcticguana replaced Ben and shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Hey, man. Give he a hand here, okay?" he asked, lifting up a foot for Rook. Rook sighed and

began to pull the many splinters from his partner's feet.

"That should just about take care of everything." Ester said from atop Arcticguana's shell.

"Yes. As you Earthlings say, I have roped them puppies." Rook agreed as he moved onto Arcticguana's other fore leg.

"Dude, it's 'rope them _doggies_'." Arcticguana corrected him. "You _really _need to stop watching those old wild west soap operas."

"Yeah, get into the new stuff, or something." Ester agreed. She hung on as Arcticguana shifted his weight so that Rook was able to remove the splinters from his back feet. Once they were done, Arcticguana offered Rook a ride back to his truck, which he happily accepted. The sudden explosion of excitement had exhausted all of them. They walked all the way back to the Kraaho village, talking all the way while Rook dosed off a little.

You okay?" Arcticguana asked as he padded along. "Your leg's not hurting or anything?"

"Nah, it only hurts when I laugh, but I don't think that'll be a problem." Ester reassured him.

Arcticguana raised an eyebrow, but accepted her explanation. "Tonight's our first night as roommates."

Ester paused. She had forgotten all about the living arrangement Ben had proposed in all the excitement. While she didn't have a problem with it, there was still the matter of Ben's mother.

_No, no. _she thought. _She's okay with it. That's how this whole thing started._

"Think the mac and cheese is still good?" Ester asked.

"Doubt it. We'll have to microwave it or something." said Arcticguana. "You _do _have a microwave, right?"

"Yeah. Salvaged it from the trash heaps and got it repaired. It can't do tacos or burritos, but I'm not a fan of Mexican food anyway. Does strange things to me." Ester admitted.

They talked the rest of the way about the house rules and what not, only waking Rook once when they were making their accent up the short cliff to the opening of the Hot Spot. Ben's mother was waiting right at the entrance, and looked as if she hadn't slept in weeks, even if they had only been gone a short hour or so.

"Hello, Mrs. Tennyson." Ester smiled. "We're back and in one piece!"

Sandra smiled and walked over to them, putting a hand on Arcticguana's shell. "I never doubted you wouldn't. The Pyroxivores are away?"

"Yep. Safe and secure, though the same can't exactly be said for Undertown." Ester answered, nudging Ben forward. Sandra followed, walking slowly beside them as they talked.

"Rook can give you a ride home," Ester offered. "I'm sure he'd be glad to if you gave him some of your famous cooking."

Ester, while not a fan of Sandra's cooking, knew that Rook was. She knew exactly what Sandra's cooking tasted like, after Ben had brought some of her leftovers down. The after math had not been pretty to say the least, and the thought still haunted her to this day. She didn't even want to be anywhere when Sandra was in the kitchen. That only led to disaster.

"Rook. Time to wake up!" Ester said, nudging her friend awake. "Sandra's cooking dinner."

At this, Rook perked up immediately, and was more than eager to drive Sandra home for some of her cooking. Ester and Arcticguana waved them off as the Proto-TRUK drove off in a cloud of dust.

"Well, that's that." Ester said as she dusted off her hands. Arcticguana nodded and lumbered back to Ester's house, squeezing in through the front door. He managed to drop Ester off at the couch as the Omnitrix time out once more.

BWEE! BWEE! BWEE! BWEE! FOOM!

"Whew! I'm ready to hit the sack!" Ben sighed as he stretched and sat down on the couch next to the Ester. The TV was still on mute, now on a picture of a stretchy yellow dog and white hat wearing boy.

"Um, yeah. Before you, take a shower, would ya?" Ester said as she covered her nose from the reeking smell that was coming from Ben's armpits. Ben took a quick sniff, and quickly agreed.

"But first, help me to bed. I'm exhausted!"

Ben heaved himself off the couch and picked Ester up bridal style as carried her to her bedroom.

Ben yawned after setting Ester down for rest before heading off to the bathroom.

"Night, Ester."

"Night, Ben." Ester yawned as she rolled over and closed her eyes.

**Okay, I will just say this now. I do not know whether Wildmutt would be able to launch his quills yet. Older Vulpimancers can do it, but I'm not sure if Ben's form is old enough.**

**Second, for the impatient people reading this, the romance will begin next chapter. The whole 'alien daughter' thing will be come a few chapters later. If you have any complaints, suggestions, or anything else, just PM me. PLEASE REVIEW! **


	7. IMPORTANT POST!

**Hello, all my viewers! I have some unfortunate news.**

**NO, I will _not _be quitting this story; I can't stand people that write a good story and don't write an ending for it. I'm not one of those people. Anyway, what I _am _going to do is rewrite and repost all the chapters in this story. I felt they were up to my usual standard and came out at half best.**

**Don't worry, they will follow the same plot lines for each chapter, just written a little different.**

**I will _try _to update and post them all at the same time so it were as if I never did anything. And I promise to add in a new chapter with them to satisfy your hunger for more.**

**Thank you all who have read!**

** Creaturemaster**


End file.
